MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Working Time Directive

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women what recent assessment she has made of the implications of the Working Time Directive on women's employment.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this Question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Party Funding

Tom Watson: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the inquiry into the funding of political parties; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: I met the Chairman of the Electoral Commission on 18 November 2003 to discuss the Commission's work on the funding of political parties, and have spoken to him on other occasions about this and other issues.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Contingencies Secretariat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the recent work of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat.

Douglas Alexander: On 19 June 2003, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat published a revised third edition of Dealing with Disaster and a draft Civil Contingencies Bill which establishes a new framework for civil protection against the challenges of the 21st century. The draft Bill is currently being considered by a Joint Committee of both Houses. The Secretariat continues to improve the resilience of the United Kingdom to disruptive challenges through working with others to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover.

Lord Birt

Norman Lamb: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on the contribution made by Lord Birt to the Cabinet Office Strategy Board.

Douglas Alexander: Lord Birt, who was appointed in October 2001 as an unpaid strategy adviser to the Prime Minister, attends the Cabinet Office Strategy Board as an external member.

SCOTLAND

Identity Cards

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Executive in relation to the introduction of identity cards.

Anne McGuire: My right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with Scottish Executive Ministers, at which a wide range of issues affecting Scotland are discussed.

PRIME MINISTER

Arctic Veterans

Mike Hancock: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen), on 5 November 2003, what procedure the request for medals for Arctic veterans has undergone, what further stages have to be gone through; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: First, I would like to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of all those who sailed in the Arctic convoys. Those who served in the Arctic Convoys during the Second World War were awarded a medal, the Atlantic Star, at the time to mark their important contribution.
	The general policy on medals, which has been followed by successive Governments over many years, is that two separate medals are not awarded for any one exercise or campaign, In addition, except in cases where specific criteria are met as in the case of the Suez Canal Zone, proposals for new medals are not considered more than five years after the event.
	Any further representations or requests for new evidence to be examined should be sent to the Ministry of Defence in the first instance.

Presidential Elections (USA)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if it is his policy to remain neutral on the outcome of presidential elections in the United States of America.

Tony Blair: Yes.

State Visit

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the representations he has received from organisations in the United States regarding the forthcoming visit of US President Bush, with particular reference to political organisations.

Tony Blair: As far as I am aware, none.

War Criminals

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his actions to seek to persuade the President of the United States to bring captured senior Saddam supporters to trial, with particular reference to Mr.Tariq Aziz.

Tony Blair: United Nations Security Council resolution 1483 affirmed the need for accountability for crimes and atrocities committed by the previous Iraqi regime. We fully support this, as do the US. We believe it is for the Iraqi people to decide how to bring those responsible to justice, with suitable international help. The Governing Council is developing the idea of a Special Iraqi Tribunal to prosecute those suspected of serious human rights abuses under the former regime. No final decision has yet been reached.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

ASBOs

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance the Crown Prosecution Service in Merseyside has provided to the Merseyside police in relation to antisocial behaviour orders; and who is responsible for requesting that an order be made.

Harriet Harman: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Conviction Rates

Anne Campbell: To ask the Solicitor-General what the conviction rate was for prosecutions under (a) a designated public places order and (b) the model bye-law for an on-street drinking ban in each year since the introduction of the DPPO.

Harriet Harman: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Corruption Legislation

Simon Thomas: To ask the Solicitor-General whether she has refused consent for any investigations or prosecutions to be carried out under corruption legislation.

Harriet Harman: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Illegal Immigrants

John Denham: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on prosecutions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 of people who have employed illegal immigrants.

Harriet Harman: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Serious Fraud Office

Mike Hancock: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  when she will reply to the written questions, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth South on 14 October 2003, refs (a) 131900, (b) 131901 and (c) 131902;
	(2)  how many (a) offences of fraud and (b) serious frauds involving breaches of trust by professionals were reported to the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last three years; how many prosecutions were initiated; what the outcome was in each case; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what plans she has to set up branches of the Serious Fraud Office in the regions;
	(4)  what recent assessment she has made of the work of the Serious Fraud Office; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC Charter

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received on the renewal of the BBC Charter; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The review of the BBC's Charter will be wide-ranging, with full industry and public consultation, and will, I hope, be characterised by vigorous and open debate. The process will be extensive and thorough, with several opportunities for people to feed in their views, and there will be an appropriate parliamentary stage.
	It will begin before the end of the year when I issue a consultation document outlining the main issues for consideration.
	My Department has already received numerous representations about a wide range of issues relating to the BBC. Those views will, along with information from a variety of other sources, including formal public consultation, be used to inform the Government's thinking on Charter review.

Crystal Palace

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with (a) Sport England and (b) relevant local and other authorities on the future of Crystal Palace as a sports stadium.

Richard Caborn: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ethical Tourism

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action the Government is taking to support ethical tourism schemes.

Richard Caborn: The Government welcomes in principle the efforts of individual tourism businesses who promote themselves under an eco-tourism banner. We regard such businesses as an important element of the mix of tourism products available to consumers.
	There are no plans to introduce a national, Government-sponsored, eco-tourism award scheme. However, several such schemes do operate independently in the UK, often aimed at a geographical or product niche. The Government supports their aims. Indeed on 12 November 2003 I met the operator of one such conservation scheme, targeted at caravan parks, for a discussion about environmental tourism.

Golf

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funds are available to develop young golfers through municipal golf courses.

Estelle Morris: Participation projects in golf are eligible for Sport England Lottery Funding, and golf received a total of 40 grants worth £8.9 million between 1995 and May 2003.
	Sport England also provides £92,000 of Exchequer funding annually to the Golf Foundation for the development of Junior Officers. The role of Junior Officers is to encourage young people to participate in the sport, through schemes such as Tri-Golf which is now being delivered throughout primary schools and social inclusion partnerships bringing golf to young people in areas of social and economic deprivation.

Leisure Facilities

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives she has discussed to improve access to leisure facilities in disadvantaged communities.

Estelle Morris: We are investing £581 million through the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) in sports facilities for schools in England. The Space for Sport and Arts programme is putting £130 million into primary school sports facilities in 65 of the most deprived LEAs in the country. (This includes £25 million from NOF.)
	We are investing £459 million in the national strategy for PE, school sport and club links. This includes a further £10 million to enhance primary-school playgrounds in 27 deprived areas and £60 million for the Community Club Development Programme to improve amateur club facilities. Distribution is a matter for governing bodies, but the programme is targeted at deprived areas and disadvantaged groups.

Licensing Act

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what fees she will introduce under the Licensing Act 2003; what estimate she has made of the cost of implementing the Act in each of the next three years; and what estimate she has made of the amount which will be raised from applications for licences.

Richard Caborn: Proposed fee levels and the expected costs of compliance with the Act were set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which accompanied the Licensing Bill and is available from the House Library. Regulations setting out these fees will be laid before Parliament shortly. The Department is working closely with the Local Government Association to ensure that fees are set at a level to which provides for full cost recovery in respect of administration, inspection and enforcement.

Lottery Funding

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her policy is on the recovery of Lottery funding from projects awarded grants which subsequently fail.

Estelle Morris: Lottery distributing bodies are required, under their financial directions, to attach conditions to each Lottery grant, enabling the distributor concerned to seek repayment of the grant, in full or in part, in certain circumstances. These circumstances include a breach by the recipient of any of the grant conditions; a material change of purpose, ownership or recipient during the project or after its completion; and cases where the recipient ceases to operate, becomes insolvent, fails to apply the grant for the purpose for which it was awarded, fails to complete the project, is found to have completed its application form fraudulently, incorrectly or misleadingly, or acts fraudulently or negligently during the completion of the project. The Department has issued guidance to the distributing bodies on the matters to be taken into account when they are considering seeking recovery of a Lottery award.

Lottery Funding

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether Lottery distributors monitor the performance of successful Lottery bids against the criteria under which they were granted.

Estelle Morris: Each Lottery distributing body's financial directions require the body to institute a system for project monitoring in respect of capital and revenue projects supported with Lottery funds, to monitor whether the objectives and terms and conditions of grant are being met. The exact nature of monitoring will vary in individual cases depending on the size, nature and complexity of the project concerned.

Lottery Funding

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Lottery funding has been recovered from failed Lottery projects in each of the past five years for which figures are available, broken down by Lottery fund.

Estelle Morris: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Meridian Station (New Hythe)

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement about the future of the Meridian station in New Hythe.

Estelle Morris: This is a matter for the Independent Television Commission, who I understand are currently considering Meridian's proposals.

Millennium Fund

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment is undertaken of the use made of successful Millennium Fund bids;
	(2)  what assessment is undertaken of the financial viability of bids to the Millennium Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: I will write to the hon. Member in my capacity as Chair of the Millennium Commission, and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on services provided to her Department by NM Rothschild since 1997.

Richard Caborn: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Olympic Bid

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost to public funds was of running the competition for a logo for the UK Olympic bid for London 2012.

Tessa Jowell: London 2012 Ltd organised an open competition to design the logo with a prize of £10,000 and associated organisational costs of £18,000. The competition attracted 1,100 entries generating community involvement in the bid, and was judged by a panel including athletes, designers, a school sports co-ordinator and a London black cab driver. The winning logo, which will be used on all bid materials and communications, from advertising and building wraps through to badges and pens, was produced by Kino Design. London 2012 Ltd have estimated that using a private design agency would have led to considerably higher costs.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost was of (a) setting, (b) monitoring and (c) measuring the performance targets for her Department in 2002–03; and how many and what grades of civil servants monitor these targets.

Estelle Morris: Performance targets for the department were agreed as part of Spending Review 2002. The monitoring and measurement of PSA targets forms part of departmental performance management. Performance management is an integral part of the day to day running of the department, and as such it is not possible to separate the specific costs out. The monitoring of progress towards, and performance against, the department's PSA targets is undertaken by a wide variety of staff at all levels of the organisation.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the performance targets that (a) her Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and if she will specify for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it.

Estelle Morris: Key performance targets for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are agreed as part of the Spending Review and the latest set were published in Spending Review 2002: Public Service Agreements 2003–2006 (Cm 5571). The department monitors progress towards the target along with HM Treasury and PMDU and progress is reported regularly.
	Performance targets for the majority of the Department's non-departmental public bodies can be found in the 2003–2006 funding agreements between the Department and the relevant body, which were laid in the Library of the House on 25, 26 and 29 of September 2003. Performance targets for English Heritage and the Historic Royal Palaces are contained in these bodies annual reports which have been laid in the Library of the House. Performance targets for Sport England and Arts Council England are still being formulated.
	Achievement against the targets is monitored by the department, including through meetings between the Secretary of State/Ministers and relevant Chief Executives.

Prime Funding

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had since July with leaders of sporting bodies which are not in the list of 10 for prime funding with public money announced on 18 November by the Chairman of Sport England.

Richard Caborn: None. The list of sports which will qualify as priorities for Lottery funding at governing body level was and is entirely a matter for Sport England. The 10 sports announced on 18 November will be priorities for the 40 per cent. of total sports Lottery funding which will be allocated for governing body support at national level. The other 60 per cent. will be distributed through the nine Regional Sport Boards, which will consider projects on their merits and without regard to the national priority list.

Television Advertising

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the dates of meetings she and her officials have had with representatives of (a) the advertising industry, (b) commercial television channels and (c) the food and drink industry during the last six months.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 18 November 2003
	I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the my hon. Friend and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

TV Licences

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  for what reason the Television Licensing Authority collects six months' money in advance from TV licence holders who opt to pay for their licences using the direct debit facility; under what powers the Television Licensing Authority collects such advance payments; and how much was held in advance payments on the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of TV licence holders using the direct debit payment facility who surrendered their licences before the end of that term subsequently claimed refunds on their extra payments, in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what percentage of deceased TV licence fee payers who used the direct debit payment facility subsequently had refunds claimed by their executors for the six months' extra payments, in the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  if she will abolish the six-month pre-payment scheme for TV licence fee payers opting to use the direct debit facility; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before Prorogation. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Women's Sport

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research has been commissioned by her Department into the gender balance of television sports coverage; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: holding answer 19 November 2003
	This Department has not undertaken any research in this area because broadcasters are generally free to respond to the needs and preferences of viewers in making their scheduling decisions. It is a well established principle of broadcasting that Government only intervenes in the sports broadcasting market to seek to ensure that all viewers, including the lower paid and the elderly, have "free to air" access to listed sporting events.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Asylum Seekers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what legal advice is made available to asylum seekers.

David Lammy: Publicly funded legal help is available for those making an asylum application, provided the client is financially eligible. Where an asylum application is refused, further legal advice and representation is available for an appeal, although at this stage the availability of public funding is subject to a strict merits test.
	Only solicitors' firms or advice agencies that hold a contract with the Legal Services Commission may undertake publicly funded work.
	My Department recently consulted on a series of changes to publicly funded immigration and asylum advice and representation. An announcement on the way forward will be made separately. In addition, the Department, the Home Office and the Legal Services Commission are currently examining the initial decision-making stage of the asylum process with particular regard to the role that publicly funded legal advice plays.

House Repossessions

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many house repossessions there have been in each region per quarter since 2000.

Christopher Leslie: Figures for the number of possession proceedings executed per quarter since 2000 are provided in the following tables.
	
		
			   2000  2001 
			 Region Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 2000 total Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 2001 total 
		
		
			 East Midlands 1,232 986 1,218 1,075 4,511 1,019 880 950 1,029 3,878 
			 Eastern 1,253 832 1,162 882 4,129 1,029 882 1,048 1,027 3,986 
			 London 4,907 4,844 5,055 4,994 19,800 5,519 4,801 6,063 5,451 21,834 
			 Merseyside 421 378 383 537 1,719 357 1,053 1,982 397 3,789 
			 North East 717 523 595 518 2,353 500 677 555 621 2,353 
			 North West 1,786 1,329 1,672 1,531 6,318 1,322 1,281 1,262 1,591 5,456 
			 South East 1,464 1,455 1,301 1,299 5,519 1,311 1,311 1,911 1,552 6,085 
			 South West 875 546 561 567 2,549 504 526 456 555 2,041 
			 Wales 841 665 773 811 3,090 761 787 774 757 3,079 
			 West Midlands 1,548 1,415 1,489 1,693 6,145 1,861 1,956 1,923 1,816 7,556 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 1,432 1,322 1,315 1,379 5,448 1,497 1,240 1,558 1,268 5,563 
			 England and Wales 16,476 14,295 15,524 15,286 61,581 15,680 15,394 18,482 16,064 65,620 
		
	
	
		
			   2002   2003 
			 Region Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 2002 total Qtr 1 Qtr 2 
		
		
			 East Midlands 1,012 1,904 1,112 1,157 5,185 1,183 1,016 
			 Eastern 956 1,379 1,070 1,028 4,433 2,158 831 
			 London 4,608 4,172 4,798 5,549 19,127 4,750 4,579 
			 Merseyside 396 390 362 394 1,542 794 736 
			 North East 849 492 760 559 2,660 650 563 
			 North West 1,355 1,145 1,624 1,673 5,797 1,133 1,182 
			 South East 1,197 1,271 1,705 1,775 5,948 1,286 1,534 
			 South West 602 875 1,039 925 3,441 832 859 
			 Wales 508 1,498 678 755 3,439 935 502 
			 West Midlands 1,771 1,532 1,495 1,225 6,023 1,110 1,903 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 1,167 1,254 1,388 1,294 5,103 1,076 1,124 
			 England and Wales 14,421 15,912 16,031 16,334 62,698 15,907 14,829

Magistrates (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the members of Advisory Committees for the appointment of magistrates in Wales.

Christopher Leslie: There are 105 members of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace in Wales. Following is a full list of their names and the Committees on which they sit.
	Clwyd
	Mrs. Lindsay Catherine Wilding
	Mr. Toby Glynn Prosser
	Mr. Michael William Pugh
	Mrs. Gillian Mary Peers
	Mr. William Gareth Hughes
	Mr. Thomas Charles Davies
	Mr. Martyn George Johnston
	Mr. Reginald Evans
	Mr. Charles Frederick Sammons
	Mrs. Elizabeth Alice Jones
	Mrs. Margaret Laura Rees
	Mr. Norman Land
	Mr. Trefor Jones
	Dyfed-Carmarthen
	Lord John Morris
	Mrs. Martha Elizabeth Esme Jones
	Mr. David Islwyn Lewis
	Mr. Thomas David Griffith Williams
	Mr. Malcolm Morgan Jones
	Mrs. Eira Ann Jenkins
	Mr. Emyr Wyn Jones
	Mr. Arwel John Davies
	Mr. John Patrick French
	Mrs. Stella Jean Jones
	Dyfed-Ceredigion
	Lord John Morris
	Mr. Geoffrey Kenneth Walker
	Mrs. Nansi Elleri Davies
	Mr. David John Davies
	Dr. Julian Raymond Evans
	Mr. Robert George Harris
	Mrs. Sheila Elizabeth Speed
	Mr. Lodwick Lloyd
	Professor David Hywel Emlyn Roberts
	Professor Ian Michael Roffe
	Reverend Peter Morgan Thomas
	Mrs. Annie Wendy Mary Lloyd
	Mr. Huw Prys Williams
	Dyfed-Pembroke
	Lord John Morris
	Mr. David Robert Smalley Clarke
	Mrs. Mollie Roach
	Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Smith
	Mrs. (Rev.) Nanette Lewis-Head
	Mr. Thomas Jones
	Mrs. Margaret Jane John
	Mr. Stanley John Barry Vaughan
	Mr. Christopher John Noott
	Mrs. Dorothy Jean Lewis
	Mr. Stephen Watkins
	Gwent
	Mr. David Michael Parry Kenny
	Mr. Simon Boyle
	Mr. Keith Dykes
	Mrs. Judith Margaret Anthony
	Mrs. Anne Christine Thomas
	Mrs. Judith Elizabeth Child
	Mr. Stuart John Telling
	Mid-Glamorgan
	Mr. David Morgan
	Mrs. Gillian Anne Rees
	Mrs. Helen Ruth Brooks
	Mrs. Moira Rosalind Evans
	Mr. Trefor Coslett Davies
	Mrs. Carole Ann Blandford
	Mrs. Kathrin Elizabeth Thomas
	South Glamorgan
	Captain Norman Lloyd-Edwards
	Cllr. Mrs. Janie Jones
	Mr. Paul Raymond Marshall
	Mrs. Dianne Hughes
	Mr. Herbert John Tonkin
	Mr. Peter James Emery
	Mr. John Lewis Jones
	Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart Williams
	West Glamorgan
	Dr. John Delwyn Morgan
	Mrs. Wenna Maud Parry Evans
	Mr. Elliot Griffiths
	Mrs. Lynda Heycock
	Mrs. Roberta Louise Fleet
	Mrs. Janet Eleanor Osborne
	Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Williams
	Mr. Gordon Cowie
	Miss Barbara Mary Lewis
	Mr. Kenneth Lewis
	Mr. Philip Wernford James
	Mr. Taha Idris
	Powys
	Lady Beryl Christine Davies
	Mrs. Kay Jeanette Hay
	Ms Lynette Kretchmer
	Mrs. Ceri Elizabeth Havard
	Mr. Gareth Richard Price
	Mr. Egan Thomas Morgan
	Mr. David Richard Jones
	Mr. Colin Smith
	Mrs. Lavenda June Pettitt
	Mr. Donald Lewis Davies
	Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Morris
	The Hon. Mrs. Shan Legge-Bourke
	Mr. Joseph Anstie Vaughan Blackham
	Gwynedd
	Dr. Helen May Roberts
	Professor Eric Sunderland
	Mrs. Susan Wynn-Jones
	Mrs. Jean Marian Bryson
	Mr. Alwyn Lloyd Ellis
	Mr. Carroll Hughes
	Mr. Thomas Arthur Hughes
	Mr. Edmund Caerwyn Roberts
	Mrs. Carey Jennifer Jones
	Mrs. Alexandra Mary Jaundrill
	Mr. Bryan Maxwell Humphreys

Royal Prerogative

Greg Knight: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will require Government Departments to lay before Parliament each month from 1 January 2004 a written statement listing decisions (a) made and (b) implemented using the Royal Prerogative.

Christopher Leslie: No. As the Prime Minister has indicated previously to the House, records are not kept of the individual occasions on which powers under the Royal Prerogative are exercised, nor would it be practicable to do so.

Consultants

Mark Oaten: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost to his Department was of the use of external consultants in (a) 2002–03 and (b) the last six months.

David Lammy: The Department's net expenditure with external consultants in the financial year dated 2002–03 was £5.7 million.
	My Department only collects information on consultancy expenditure on an annual basis at the end of the financial year, so figures for the current year are not yet available.

Crown Immunity

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if he will make a statement on the impact of (a) the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and (b) human rights legislation on disclosure of information from hearings under which access is restricted owing to Crown Property immunity from prosecution.

Christopher Leslie: Consideration is being given to the issue of the State's immunity from criminal proceedings. Both the Government's consultation paper on the reform of the law on involuntary manslaughter, in May 2000. and 'Revitalising Health and Safety' in June 2000, contained proposals for removing or modifying that immunity.
	In the light of the responses to those publications, an inter-departmental working group was established. My noble Friend. the Under Secretary of State, Lord Filkin. will write to the hon. Member when further infomation is available.

Departmental Expenditure (Official Residences)

Howard Flight: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: My Department has no residential properties used by Ministers or officials.

Electronic Voting

Tom Watson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what meetings he has had with manufacturers of electronic voting machines.

Christopher Leslie: I have not met with any manufacturers to discuss electronic voting machines, but my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Local Government has met a number of such manufacturers as part of the local elections pilots programme over the past three years.

Gender Recognition Certificates

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the impact on a marriage where one person is granted a full gender recognition certificate, (b) the effect on children in a marriage where one person is granted a FGRC and (c) the financial effects of one partner in a marriage being granted a FGRC.

David Lammy: This Government are committed to understanding and recognising the needs and aspirations of transsexual people. We recognise that transsexual people face many challenges not least the impact on their family should they decide to seek legal recognition in an acquired gender. The purpose of the draft Bill is specifically to give transsexual people legal recognition in their acquired gender, and with that legal recognition transsexual people will be expected to conform with gender specific arrangements that would apply to anyone sharing their legal gender.
	(a) The issue of what to do with existing marriages is a complex one. The Government's policy is clear on existing marriages that involve a transsexual person. It is a policy founded on the fact that UK law does not recognise marriage between two people of the same legal gender and the Government do not intend to see that position charmed.
	(b) Transsexual parents will no doubt consider carefully what impact their gaining legal recognition in an acquired gender might have on their children. A transsexual person will retain his or her parental status after being granted a full gender recognition certificate and, thereby, legal recognition in their acquired gender.
	(c) The issue of an interim gender recognition certificate makes the existing marriage of the successful applicant voidable at the application to the Courts of either party to the marriage but has no effect beyond that. In granting the annulment, the Court will be able to make orders dealing with financial and other issues arising from the annulment of the marriage.
	(d) The Government have conducted a consultation exercise for same sex civil partnership and will publish their response in due course. If a civil partnership scheme is created, an individual who has been married prior to receiving recognition in the acquired gender could, subsequent to receiving recognition, register a civil partnership with the same individual.

House Sales

Simon Hughes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many house sales there were at more than (a) £50,001, (b) £100,001, (c) £200,001, (d) £500,001, (e) £750,001 and (f) £1 million in London in each of the last six years for which figures are available.

David Lammy: The figures for each completed calendar year are as follows. Land Registry collects residential property price data by specified price bands and it is not possible to provide figures for sales specifically at "more than £750,001". An alternative range has therefore been provided.
	
		
			 More than (£) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 50,001 74,570 65,405 63,064 41,335 30,720 16,134 
			 100,001 44,801 50,443 69,947 69,665 82,899 87,567 
			 200,001 15,859 18,535 29,968 35,032 46,098 64,462 
			 500,001 1,616 1,842 2,867 3,636 4,188 5,899 
			 800,000 401 383 682 928 1,112 1,378 
			 1 million 480 608 939 1,428 1,070 2,046

Lord Chancellor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many responses he received to the "Constitutional Reform: Reforming the Office of the Lord Chancellor" consultation document; how many of these responses came from (a) the judiciary and legal professions, (b) Government Departments and agencies, (c) political parties and hon. Members, (d) main representative groups and interested parties, (e) ecclesiastical representatives and organisations in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland; and when the Government intend to issue its response to the responses received.

Christopher Leslie: There have been 225 responses to the consultation paper on "Constitutional Reform: reforming the office of the Lord Chancellor". There have been four responses from Northern Ireland, and two from Scotland. Apart from this, all responses have been from England. A further breakdown of these responses is set out in the following table.
	The Government will be announcing its decisions in the light of responses to the consultation as soon as possible.
	
		
			  Total England Wales N. Ireland Scotland 
		
		
			 A) Judiciary and legal 19 
			 Judges 4 4 0 0 0 
			 Associations/ societies 14 11 0 2 1 
			 Solicitors 2 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 B) Government Departments/agencies 9 
			 Government Departments 5 5 0 0 0 
			 Advisory committees/ local authorities 4 4 0 0 0 
			   
			 C) Political parties and hon. members 2 
			 Political parties 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Members of the House of Lords 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Members of the House of Commons 0 0 0 0 0 
			   
			  D) Main representative groups and interested parties36 33 0 2 1 
			   
			 E) Ecclesiastical representatives/ organisations 142 142 0 0 0 
		
	
	There have been 17 responses from members of the general public
	225 responses received in total

Magistrates (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the declared political allegiance of magistrate benches in Wales was in the last year for which figures are available.

Christopher Leslie: Applicants to the magistracy are no longer asked to declare their political affiliation. The most recent figures, however, give the position in April 2003. These show that, of those who declared any affiliation, 526 declared for Labour, 473 for the Conservatives, 240 for the Liberal Democrats and 126 for Plaid Cymru.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much the Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: My Department conducts a range of exercises to measure public satisfaction with services and to assess future needs. Information regarding expenditure on such activities is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Office for the Supervision of Solicitors

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the rate of throughput of cases in the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.

David Lammy: The OSS produce a monthly Digest of Performance Measures and Statistics which gives details of their performance. From January 2003 to October 2003, their throughput of cases is as follows:
	
		Combined performance of conduct and service cases -- Per cent.
		
			 Percentage of cases closed within Jan–Oct 2003 
		
		
			 3 months 45 
			 6 months 67 
			 12 months 89 
			 18 months 96 
			 21 months 98 
		
	
	Further details are available on the Law Society website www.lawsociety.co.uk. (Please refer to the "Visitors" site for the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.)

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Assistance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of European Community overseas development assistance has gone to low income countries in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The proportion of European community overseas development assistance which went to low income countries over the last 10 years was:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2002 (1)52 
			 2001 43 
			 2000 38 
			 1999 43 
			 1998 46 
			 1997 46 
			 1996 52 
			 1995 60 
			 1994 59 
			 1993 53 
		
	
	(1) Provisional
	Source:
	Geographical Distribution of Financial Flows to Aid Recipients, OECD-DAC.

Food Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries have been the top five recipients of (a) UK and (b) EU food aid in 2003; what tonnages of food each received, broken down by food type in each of the last five years; and what local production of these food types was in the five countries in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The top five recipients of UK bilateral food aid in 2002–03 are:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Central Africa (regional) 25.75 
			 Ethiopia 19.04 
			 Zimbabwe 6.51 
			 Zambia 4.28 
			 Angola 2.75 
		
	
	EC figures (including UK attribution) for 2003 are not yet available.
	UK Government food aid contributions are made in cash rather than in kind and disbursed through a variety of means including World Food Programme and Non-Governmental Organisations. Neither DFID nor the EC hold centrally information relating to the tonnages and types of food then purchased, or the local production statistics in each of the recipient countries. To answer the question fully and going back over five years, would incur disproportionate cost.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of pregnant women aged between 15 and 24 years in sub-Saharan Africa suffered from HIV/AIDS in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: There is limited data on the prevalence rate among pregnant women in the 15 to 24-year-age group. However, the level of HIV infection among pregnant women is similar to that in the general female population and the latter can be used as a proxy for the prevalence in pregnant women of the same age.
	The latest UNAIDS estimates of the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in women aged 15 to 24 years in sub-Saharan Africa range between a low of 6.4 per cent. and a high of 11.4 per cent. at the end of 2001. The World Bank estimates the middle point of this range as 9.3 per cent.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the prevalence rates of HIV infection were in vulnerable groups in Asia in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Comprehensive data showing prevalence rates for these vulnerable groups in Asia is not available for the whole period requested. What data is available comes mainly from internationally accepted sources e.g. UNAIDS (see www.unaids.org). It does suggest a clear trend of increasing HIV prevalence in specific vulnerable groups in several countries.
	DFID is working closely with others, including UNAIDS, to improve data on HIV prevalence in these marginalised and often hidden population groups in China, India and other Asian countries.

Illiteracy

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on illiteracy in developing countries in (a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) 2000.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Dakar Goal on literacy calls for a 50 per cent. improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015. The world is making steady but slow progress on this goal. In 2000, almost one fifth of the world's adults, 862 million people aged 15 and over, were illiterate. This means that over the last two decades we have seen an improvement of less than 10 per cent. in adult literacy rates, from approximately 70 per cent. in 1980 and 75 per cent. in 1990 to 80 per cent. in 2000. Women continue to be disproportionately affected and still account for almost two-thirds of the world's illiterates. Clearly, the world needs to intensify efforts if the Dakar literacy goal is to be achieved
	DFID believes that literacy is key to enabling individuals to acquire the basic skills necessary to build and sustain a livelihood, and to participate in and shape society. To support national governments in their efforts to reduce levels of illiteracy, DFID focuses on strengthening education systems to increase access to good quality primary education for all children. Since May 1997 the Government have committed over £700 million to support sustainable, high quality, primary education systems in developing countries. We will do more. Between 2002 and 2007 we intend to invest about £1 billion in education.
	At the same time, improving literacy practice for adults will continue to be an integral part of many different sectoral programmes supported by DFID, such as health, transport and water. We will continue to emphasise the need to ensure that all such efforts to improve literacy levels are given appropriate priority in poverty reduction strategies.

Iraq

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 1 September 2003, to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (John Barrett), Official Report, column 809W, if he will make a statement on the work of the task force set up to remove radioactive material removed from the civil nuclear facility at al-Tuwaitha in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The findings of the inspection team which assessed the extent and impact of the looting of the storage drums and containers from Al Tuwaitha has been reported by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The inspection team found that approximately 200 containers, used for storing low-enriched uranium, had been removed and the contents dispersed. The quantity and type of compounds dispersed were not found to be sensitive from a proliferation point of view. The site has now been secured and the radioactive material sealed in concrete.
	A second task force, consisting of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Ministry of the Environment, World Health Organisation (WHO), Coalition Provisional Authority, IAEA and NGOs was convened to address the potential risk to public health caused by the residual radioactive materials within the looted containers. As a result, the MoH, MoE and WHO have initiated a survey, through local public health centres, to assess and monitor the population potentially affected. The survey, still in its preliminary phase, has been disrupted by the impact of the bombing of the UN HQ on 19 August 2003 and has yet to be completed. The UK Government has provided £6 million to WHO in 2003 to support WHOs sectoral lead in health in Iraq.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the follow-up action taken by the countries which have completed poverty reduction strategy papers.

Hilary Benn: So far, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are being implemented in 32 countries, three of which are in the process of implementing their second PRSP (Bolivia, Nicaragua and Uganda). Through its Country Offices and with international partners, DFID is working closely to monitor progress on implementation.
	Preliminary evidence suggests that many of these countries are using their PRSPs to maintain processes for civil society participation; improve the framing of macroeconomic policies; improve policies for service delivery and governance; improve public expenditure management; and shift spending priorities towards poverty reduction.
	According to the World Bank and IMF, expenditure on poverty-reducing sectors (e.g. health, education, water, sanitations) has increased in PRSP countries by 4 per cent. of total spending, and by 1.5 per cent. of GDP. However, implementation of these strategies remains at an early stage, and will require sustained support both from country governments and the international community to help meet emerging challenges and realise the Millennium Development Goals.

Primary Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of primary age children enrolled in primary school in Asia in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Internationally agreed figures for Primary school enrolment for each of the last 10 years do not exist. However the most recent Education For All Global Monitoring Report published by UNESCO in November 2003 compares the Net Enrolment Rate, defined as the number of pupils in the official primary school age group enrolled in primary school as a percentage of the primary school age population, for the Asia regions (Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and South and West Asia) between 1990 and 2000. Details are:
	
		Primary net enrolment ratio
		
			  1990 2000 
		
		
			 Central Asia 82 91 
			 East Asia and Pacific 96 93 
			 South and West Asia 73 81 
		
	
	The Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2003–04, containing this data, is available at http://www.efareport.unesco.org

Primary Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary school in Asia has been in the last 10 years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Internationally agreed figures for gender ratios of enrolments for each of the last 10 years do not exist. However the most recent Education For All Global Monitoring Report published by UNESCO in November 2003 compares the Gender Parity Index (GPI), defined as the ratio of female-to-male gross enrolment ratios, for the Asia regions (Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and South and West Asia) between 1990 and 2000. Details are:
	
		Ratio of girls to boys in primary school
		
			  1999 2000 
		
		
			 Central Asia 0.99 0.99 
			 East Asia and Pacific 0.94 0.99 
			 South and West Asia 0.76 0.84 
		
	
	The Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2003–04, containing this data, is available at http://www.efareport.unesco.org

HOME DEPARTMENT

Air Guns

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of violent crime involving air guns there have been in each of the past 20 years; and how many (a) fatalities and (b) woundings involving air rifles there have been in each of the past 20 years.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were issued with fines for vandalism in each year since 1997; what proportion of fines have been paid; and what proposals he has to ensure that fines are not ignored.

Caroline Flint: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Antisocial Behaviour

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources will be available to the police to enable them to implement the provision of the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, with particular reference to Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Asylum Seekers

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on procedures in place for dealing with unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the UK who are resident in Scotland.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Asylum Seekers

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people applied for asylum in the UK in each of the last 15 years;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the extent of the backlog of asylum applications;
	(3)  what agreement has been made with the Treasury concerning the budget for the asylum application system in this financial year;
	(4)  what recent measures have been implemented to improve the processing of asylum applications;
	(5)  if he will make a statement on the quality of decision-making in the asylum application process;
	(6)  what training is given to staff working in the asylum application system;
	(7)  what measures are in place to reduce the number of appeals against asylum application decisions;
	(8)  what (a) number and (b) percentage of asylum applications were rejected purely on procedural grounds in 2002–03.
	(9)  what his policy is on providing asylum seekers with assistance during the application process;
	(10)  what action he is taking to increase the number of removals of rejected asylum applicants;
	(11)  when his proposal to set up an annual quota for asylum seekers will be implemented;
	(12)  how (a) local government and (b) health providers are integrated with asylum support services.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Children Act

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken by (a) his Department and (b) the Prison Service following the recent judicial review finding that the Children Act 1989 covers children in prisons.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Cleveland Coroner

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquests were outstanding in the jurisdiction of the Cleveland Coroner in (a) July, (b) August, (c) September and (d) October.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 4 November 2003
	I will write to my hon. and learned Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Cleveland Coroner

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquests in the jurisdiction of the Cleveland Coroner were heard in (a) August, (b) September and (c) October by the (i) coroner, (ii) deputy coroner and (iii) assistant deputy coroner.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. amd learned Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Cleveland Coroner

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the salaries are of (a) the Cleveland Coroner, (b) his deputy and (c) his assistant deputy.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 4 November 2003
	I will write to my hon. and learned Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Consultants

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many consultants are employed by each agency for which his Department is responsible.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply in full to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes dated 29 July concerning Mrs. Mary Williams of Brixham, South Devon.

Caroline Flint: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton to discuss the letter to him dated 8 September, with regard to Mr.Yacob Yonis.

David Blunkett: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will respond to the letter of 22 April 2002 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on behalf of Omar Mohammed Waiss, reference W1049328, regarding his application for an extension of his exceptional leave to remain.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Crime (International Co-operation)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve international co-operation on tackling crime; and what assessment he has made of the benefits of such co-operation.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Crime Statistics (Avon and Somerset)

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many burglaries there were in (a) Avon and Somerset constabulary and (b) Bath and North East Somerset Basic Command Unit in (i) 1997, (ii) 2002 and (iii) 2003;
	(2)  how many vehicle crimes there were in Avon and Somerset in (a) 1997, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003;
	(3)  how many robberies there were in Avon and Somerset in (a) 1997, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Criminal Records Bureau

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what procedures are applicable for undertaking a Criminal Records Bureau check for people coming from abroad to work in the health and care sector;
	(2)  what procedures are in place for monitoring the performance of Capita's contract for the Criminal Records Bureau.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Curfew Orders

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 28 October, on curfew orders, Official Report, column 178W, when he will be able to provide the equivalent figures for 2002.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

David Blaine

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs to public funds were of the recent actions of Mr. Blaine.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 20 November 2003
	I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Deaths in Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths in custody of prisoners below the age of 20 years there were in each of the last 30 years.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Drug Addicts

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what changes there have been in the aftercare of those released from prison receiving treatment for a drug dependency in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Department of Health on the effectiveness of drug treatment facilities in prisons; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on the impact of drug treatment and testing orders on the reoffending rates of heroin addicts.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Drugs

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 November 2003, Official Report, column 100W, on drugs, what percentage of (a) male and (b) female prisoners have been imprisoned for reoffending for drugs offences.

Paul Goggins: The latest information available for reconviction rates for prisoners discharged from establishments in England and Wales is for 1999. Of the 7,148 males and 820 female prisoners discharged in 1999 and originally sentenced for a drugs offence, 348 (5 per cent) and 28 (3 per cent) respectively were re-convicted and re-incarcerated for a further drugs related offence within two years of discharge.

Dungavel

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to vary the terms of contract between Premier Group and his Department in respect of the administration of Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Durban Programme of Action Seminar

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  at what level the Government will be represented at the seminar on implementing the Durban Programme of Action convened by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, to be held in Brussels from 10 to 12 December 2003;
	(2)  what progress has been made in the last 12 months in drawing up a National Action Plan Against Racism, as agreed at the UN World Conference against Racism in Durban in September 2001.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Economic Migration

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will hold regular public consultations on the subject of economic migration.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Electronic Tagging

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been electronically tagged as part of their licence conditions under section 62 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000; what evaluation has been conducted into the operation of these powers; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Emergency Calls (Police Response Times)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) target and (b) maximum response times are for the police to attend emergencies following 999 calls.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Essex Police

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many additional police officers were employed by Essex police, for the Crime Fighting Fund on 1 September;
	(2)  how many regular police officers were employed by Essex Police on 1 September;
	(3)  how many support staff were employed by Essex Police on 1 September;
	(4)  what the vacancy figure for regular police officers in Essex Police on 1 September was.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Ethnic Monitoring

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many new staff were employed by the Prison Service in England and Wales during 2002 as (a) governors, (b) prison officers and (c) other staff; and how many in each category were (i) black and (ii) Asian;
	(2)  how many people are on the National Probation Service case load by type of order; and how many in each category are (a) black and (b) Asian;
	(3)  how many sentenced prisoners in England and Wales are (a) white and (b) black, broken down by whether they were sentenced for (i) sexual offences, (ii) violence against another person, (iii) robbery, (iv) burglary, (v) drug offences, (vi) fraud, (vii) criminal damage and (viii) theft;
	(4)  what proportion of (a) white and (b) black prisoners were recommended for parole at their first review during 2002;
	(5)  how many people were in prison (a) on remand awaiting trial, (b) on remand awaiting sentence and (c) sentenced, on the latest date for which figures are available; and how many in each category were (i) black and (ii) Asian.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Firearms

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all the companies exhibiting equipment covered by the Firearms Acts at the Defence Systems Equipment International Exhibition in September obtained the necessary licences; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Football Hooliganism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to close UK-based websites promoting hooligan behaviour at football grounds.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Graffiti

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions his Department has had with utility companies on measures to tackle graffiti on street furniture owned by those companies.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Heroin Addicts

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered heroin addicts there were in the West Midlands in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by local authority.

Caroline Flint: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Homophobic Incitement

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to his noble Friend's answer of 18 December 2002, House of Lords, Official Report, column 124WA, what plans he has to take further action against potential incitement to violence against homosexual people through song lyrics in the context of live performances.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Identity Cards

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his proposal to require all foreigners in the UK to have identification cards in four years after the start of the scheme will include (a) citizens of Commonwealth countries, (b) Commonwealth citizens with resident status, (c) citizens of EU member states, (d) citizens of EU new member states and (e) citizens of EU applicant states.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Identity Cards

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the responses received to the Government's consultation exercise on entitlement cards and identity fraud were from Northern Ireland; and how many of these responses were (a) in favour of and (b) against a card scheme.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Identity Cards

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Members and applicant states of the European Union where a system of obligatory identity cards is part of domestic law; what (a) formal, (b) informal and (c) provisional agreements (i) have been made and (ii) are under consideration between Members and applicant states for common (A) format, (B) content and (C) system of citizen identity documents and their use; and what additional action would be required by the Government in respect of compulsory use of identity cards if EU common citizenship was adopted under proposals in Article 1–8 of the Draft European Constitution.

David Blunkett: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Identity Cards

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on whether, subsequent to the coming into effect of the proposed EU constitution, presentation of a national identity card of a member state would provide sufficient certification to permit entry to the UK.

David Blunkett: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Illegal Employment Prosecutions

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prosecutions have been brought under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 in each year since its introduction; and how many have been successful;
	(2)  how many prosecutions have been brought under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 in each year since 1973; and how many have been successful.

Beverley Hughes: The latest available information on those persons proceeded against, and found guilty, under section 8 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1996 and section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 are shown in the table. Comparable data prior to 1983 are not available due to changes in data collection methods.
	The data given for 1997 to 2001 have been revised significantly since they were published in the command paper "Control of Immigration Statistics: United Kingdom 2001" in November 2002. These corrected data are being published here for the first time. Despite being labelled as being the number of persons proceeded against under the Acts, the data for magistrates courts given previously described the number of offences and therefore have been revised downwards.
	For the Crown Court, the tables previously counted immigration offences only where they were the principle offence under consideration. The figures have now been revised upwards to include the principle immigration offence, irrespective of what other offences may have been dealt with at the same time.
	Information on those people proceeded against in 2002 under the Immigration Acts is due to be published at the end of November on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html.
	
		Persons found guilty of offences under Immigration Acts 1971 to 1996 in England and Wales -- Number of persons
		
			   Found guilty 
			 Act and section Offence(2) description 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 
		
		
			  
			  
			 All courts(3)   
			 Immigration Act 1971   
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 10 13 13 6 6 5 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 7 3 10 7 7 4 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 571 599 476 446 358 229 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 245 260 209 202 368 313 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 16 11 14 12 4 1 
			 24(A)(4) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception — — — — — — 
			 24(1)(f) and (g)
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 6 3 6 2 5 3 
			 
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			 Act and section Offence(2) description 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 
		
		
			 All courts(3)   
			 Immigration Act 1971   
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 4 5 2 3 1 2 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 1 1 4 1 5 7 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 55 22 15 10 1 3 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 77 55 31 17 6 3 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 4 3 5 — — 1 
			 24(A)(4) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception — — — — — — 
			 24(1)(f) and (g)
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 7 15 2 4 3 3 
			 
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			 Act and section Offence(2) description 1995 1996 1997 1998(5) 1999(5) 2000(5) 2001(5) 
		
		
			 All courts(3)
			 Immigration Act 1971
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 2 1 2 6 6 2 3 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 10 5 16 19 24 27 37 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 6 2 11 2 6 3 5 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 5 7 5 7 7 2 14 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 3 1 2 1 — 2 1 
			 24(A)(4) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception 3 1 2 1 10 10 111 
			 24(1)(f) and (g) 
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 4 3 2 1 1 2 1 
			  
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — — — — 2 
		
	
	(2) Principal immigration offence.
	(3) Includes cases found guilty at magistrates courts and the Crown Court.
	(4) As added by section 2 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999—(replaced section 24(1)(aa) from 14 February 2000).
	(5) Revised
	
		Persons found guilty of offences under Immigration Acts 1971 to 1996 in England and Wales -- Number of persons
		
			   Proceeded against 
			 Act and section Offence(6) description 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Magistrates courts   
			 Immigration Act 1971   
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 11 14 13 8 10 5 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 9 6 10 10 8 7 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 630 663 52 509 425 291 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 263 282 249 221 435 376 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 19 12 16 13 5 3 
			 24(A)(7) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception — — — — — — 
			 24(1)(f) and (g)
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 8 3 8 6 6 3 
			 
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Proceeded against 
			 Act and section Offence(6) description 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 
		
		
			 Magistrates courts   
			 Immigration Act 1971   
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 7 6 2 4 1 3 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 4 3 7 3 6 12 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 87 45 26 16 13 17 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 99 76 44 32 13 12 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 6 3 7 1 2 2 
			 24(A)(7) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception — — — — — — 
			 24(1)(f) and (g)
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 9 23 6 6 4 6 
			 
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			   Proceeded against 
			 Act and section Offence(6) description 1995 1996 1997 1998(8) 1999(8) 2000(8) 2001(8) 
		
		
			  Magistrates courts  
			 Immigration Act 1971
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK in breach of a deportation order 3 1 3 7 6 3 5 
			 24(1)(a) Entering UK without leave 24 9 35 34 42 39 53 
			 24(1)(b)(i), 24(1)(c) Overstaying time limit of leave 11 11 16 3 9 12 11 
			 24(1)(b)(ii), 24(1)(d) Failure to observe conditions of leave 11 12 10 10 14 9 13 
			 24(1)(e) Failure to observe restrictions under Schedule 2 or 3 as to residence, employment and reporting to police or an Immigration Officer 9 3 5 2 2 3 2 
			 24(A)(7) Seeking leave to enter or remain, or avoidance or postponement of enforcement action, by deception — — 1 5 13 17 121 
			 24(1)(f) and (g) 
			 26(1)(e), (g) and 27 Other Immigration Act offences 8 4 2 3 1 3 1 
			  
			  Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 
			 8 Employing a person subject to immigration control — — — 1 4 10 5 
		
	
	(6) Principal immigration offence.
	(7) As added by section 2 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999—(replaced section 24(1)(aa) from 14 February 2000).
	(8) Revised

Illegal Immigrants

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what action he is taking to assess the number of people illegally present in the UK;
	(2)  what measures are in place to deal with the problems of (a) illegal immigrants and (b) immigrants working illegally.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Immigration and Asylum

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) recorded and (b) estimated levels of (i) immigration supported by a work permit, (ii) immigration of dependants, (iii) asylum-seeker arrivals, (iv) other categories of inward migration to the UK, (v) asylum-seeker returns, (vi) deportations of illegal immigrants and (vii) other categories of migration from the UK were in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

International Drugs Trade

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is being done to combat the international drugs trade, particularly that emanating from countries of concern; and if he will make a statement on its impact upon the United Kingdom.

Caroline Flint: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

IT Workers (Fast-track Visas)

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that information technology workers entering the UK from outside the EU, facilitated by a Fast Track visa, have (a) appropriate technical qualifications and (b) at least 10 years' validated experience in IT work;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that companies wishing to import information technology workers from outside the EU have first advertised such posts in (a) the UK and (b) the EU.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Metropolitan Police

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase the number of officers in the Metropolitan Police sufficiently to ensure that the Borough of Wandsworth has more police than were available prior to 1 May 1997.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Ministerial Visits

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons he has visited in (a) the last three months, (b) the last six months and (c) the last year.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Multiple Murder Convictions

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted for multiple murders in each of the last 30 years.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

NM Rothschild and Son Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschilds since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Nuisance Neighbours

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what community initiatives are under discussion for the elimination of the problem of nuisance neighbours.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

On-street Drinking Ban

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance he gives to local authorities on the best method for implementing a city-wide on-street drinking ban.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Parliamentary Questions

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the question of 18 September from the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon on the research into the potential re-use of burial grounds.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Parliamentary Questions

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington, tabled on 14 October 2003, reference 132690.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Parole

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) dangerous and (b) non-dangerous prisoners applied for parole in 2002–03;
	(2)  how many individuals have been eligible for parole in each year since 2000; and how many have sought parole;
	(3)  when the parole board will be advised of their funding budget for 2004–05;
	(4)  what recent steps have been taken to inform (a) the public and (b) interested bodies within the criminal justice system about the work of the parole board;
	(5)  how many prisons have a parole clerk;
	(6)  how the denyers who came before the parole board between January and June were classified; and what the outcome was of their appeals to the parole board;
	(7)  what the primary reasons are for refusing parole.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Passports

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to proceed with changes to the requirements placed upon applicants for new passports only when the proposals have been (a) notified to Parliament and (b) subjected to a parliamentary procedure.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Passports

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have refused to pay fees for (a) applications for variation of leave and (b) endorsing passports since August; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Passports

Gerry Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the population holds a passport.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Pay and Pension Service

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) staff turnover and (b) staffing levels at the Bootle headquarters of the Home Office Pay and Pension Service were in each financial year since 1997–98; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason there has not been an inflationary increase in the special rural grant in Police Authority funding; and if he will rectify this in next year's settlement.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what amount of central government grant per head was paid to each police authority in England in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the sources of funding are for police community support officers in Cambridgeshire; and how much funding is being received from each source in 2003–04.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the (a) establishment figure and (b) actual figure for the Kent Police Force Area was in each of the last five years broken down by (i) police constables, (ii) sergeants and (iii) inspectors;
	(2)  what the (a) establishment figure and (b) actual figure for police force strength in each of the police force areas in England and Wales was in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each of the police authorities in Wales in each of the last 24 years.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of each reorganisation of the police service since 1977.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what advice his Department offers constabularies in relation to response times to 999 calls;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on targets for response times by the police to 999 calls.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Police

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many minor crimes were reported through (a) the www.online.police.uk website and (b) individual police force websites in the last year for which figures are available; and how many reports have resulted in (i) an offence being recorded and (ii) further substantive action.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps the Prison Service is taking to (a) ensure that all prisoners have a healthy and balanced diet and (b) provide information and education to prisoners on what constitutes a healthy and balanced diet, with particular reference to young offenders in young offender institutions;
	(2)  what research his Department has commissioned on the relationship between diet and (a) behaviour in prison, (b) education in prison and (c) re-offending after release from prison; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on (a) education and (b) cognitive behavioural therapy in prisons in each of the last six years.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many part-time prison officers were employed by Her Majesty's Prison Service in Essex on 1 September.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the shortfall in prison officers in high security prisons; and what measures he is taking to increase recruitment of prison officers.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2003, Official Report, columns 437–38W, on prisoners, 
	(1)  how many of the prisoners were women, in each case; how many were young offenders; what the average distance that prisoners were held away from their home town was in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people received into prison in each of the last 10 years served sentences of (a) less than three months, (b) between three and six months, (c) between six and nine months, (d) between nine and 12 months, (e) between 12 months and two years, (f) between two and four years and (g) over four years, broken down by (i) age and (ii) sex.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have retired from the Prison Service for reasons of age, in each year since 1992; and what he estimates the figure will be for 2004–05.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted of multiple murder have been released from prison in each of the last 30 years.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prisons in England and Wales provide detoxification programmes for alcohol-misusing prisoners;
	(2)  how many prisoners with alcohol-related problems (a) entered and (b) completed detoxification programmes for alcohol misuse in each year since 2000;
	(3)  how many places are available on alcohol treatment programmes for prisoners in England and Wales;
	(4)  whether the Prison Service has an alcohol strategy for the treatment of prisoners with alcohol problems;
	(5)  what proportion of (a) male and (b) female prisoners in England and Wales have alcohol-related problems;
	(6)  how many prisoners with alcohol-related problems have been received into custody in prisons in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available;
	(7)  how many prisoners in custody in England and Wales received treatment for alcohol-related problems (a) prior to being received into custody and (b) while in custody.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average number of hours out-of-cell women of 18 years or younger received each day in prison, in the last year for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recommended minimum number of hours out of cell is for (a) men in prison and (b) young men in young offender institutions; and what the actual number of hours out of cell for young men in young offender institutions was in the last year for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those of Her Majesty's Prisons where visitors have to wait outside the prison gates before being allowed inside.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places on drug rehabilitation programmes are available in each prison in (a) London and (b) England and Wales.

Caroline Flint: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the minimum safe ratio for prison officers to prisoners is in each category of prison.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unfilled positions there were in the Prison Service in each month since May; and by what percentage each prison affected is understaffed.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the 
	(1)  Home Department how many television sets there were in each of the last five years in prisons; and what proportion operated with stand-by units;
	(2)  what his policy is on the use of televisions with stand-by units within prisons.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Prisons

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total prisons budget was for each year since 1995; and what the prisons spending forecast is for each year up to 2009.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Public Places Order

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what challenges have been made to the validity of prosecutions for infringement of a designated public places order.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Radio Frequency Identifier Devices

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the police on the use of radio frequency identifier devices.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Rape Crisis Federation

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his Department's decision to cease funding the Rape Crisis Federation.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Special Constables

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in England and Wales for each year since 1997, broken down by police force.

David Blunkett: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

State Visit

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen based in Croydon have deployed to police the state visit of President Bush.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Strip Searches

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many children have been forcibly strip searched in each of the juvenile prisons in (a) 2003 and (b) 2002; and for what reason;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to governors of prisons holding juvenile prisoners on their strip searching.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Terrorism

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and searches under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been carried out since demonstrations began at RAF Fairford; what the charges against those arrested were; and how many have resulted in successful prosecutions.

Hazel Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Terrorism

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has received on the number of successful prosecutions to date of those involved in the 11 September terrorist attacks.

David Blunkett: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Violent Partner Register

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed register of violent partners will be administered; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Visa Charges

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement by the Under-Secretary of State of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column. 313WH, on visa charges, which representatives of (a) schools and (b) universities were consulted on plans to increase visa charges for overseas students; and whether the Department for Education and Skills made representations on the issue to his Department.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Work Permits

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits in each month since January 2001 were (a) applied for and (b) granted.

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders in young offender institutions are in overcrowded cells.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many youth offenders in each of the last five years have been transferred to another penal institution during the last three months of their sentence.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many girls aged under 25 are serving sentences in each (a) prison, (b) young offender institution and (c) local authority secure unit.

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders from Wales were in penal institutions in (a) Wales and (b) England at the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by institution; and what plans he has to accommodate more youth offenders from Wales in Wales.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in Feltham Young Offenders Institution have been placed in the segregation unit since January; and for how long.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution have been placed in the segregation unit since January; and for how long.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Young Offenders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people from each local unitary authority in Wales were in young offenders' institutions in each of the past 20 years.

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

WALES

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel in each year after 1997 by the Welsh Office, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The Wales Office was established in 1999. Bechtel have not been contracted to carry out any consultancy work for the Wales Office since then.
	There are no records of Bechtel carrying out any work for the Welsh Office between 1997 and 1999.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department or its predecessor in year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The Wales Office was established in 1999. It has no agencies.
	There are no records of Bechtel carrying out any work for agencies of the Welsh Office between 1997 and 1999.

Burglary

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the level of burglary was in Wales in 1997; what it was in 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The number of burglary offences recorded in 1997 was 46,445. In 2002–03, it was 36,848.
	There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime from 1998, which had the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted, and therefore, the number of offences are not directly comparable.

Drug Abuse

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his co-ordinated plans with the Welsh Assembly to tackle drug abuse in Wales.

Don Touhig: I have met ministerial colleagues, both in Westminster and the Assembly, to discuss tackling substance misuse.
	The Drug Strategy, "Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain", was introduced in 1998. Following a review in 2002, it was built on and adapted with the launch of an Updated Strategy, which is widely available, including on the Home Office website.
	The Assembly has responsibility for many areas of tackling substance misuse in Wales, for example, the provision of treatment for those with substance misuse problems. The Assembly Strategy for Wales, "Tackling Substance Misuse in Wales: A Partnership Approach", is widely available, including on the National Assembly for Wales' website.

Examination Results

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average grade at (a) GCSE and (b) A-level in Wales was in 2002; and what the results were in England.

Don Touhig: Provisional statistical information on GCSE and A-level results in Wales for 2002 are available in the National Assembly's Statistics Wales Release SDR 55/2003.
	DfES provides statistical information for GCSE and A-level results in England in a similar form in their release SFR 30/2003.
	Both releases are available in the library of the House of Commons.

Free Prescriptions

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those medical conditions which allow free prescriptions to be claimed.

Don Touhig: This information is available in the leaflet HC11—Help with Health Costs, which states that free NHS prescriptions can be claimed by those who have a valid medical certificate issued because of the following conditions:
	Permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, ileostomy or laryngostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or an appliance
	Forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
	Diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism
	Diabetes mellitus except where treatment is by diet alone
	Hypoparathyroidism
	Myasthenia gravis
	Myxoedema (Hypothyroidism) or other conditions where supplemental thyroid hormone is necessary.
	Epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy
	A continuing physical disability which prevents the patient leaving his residence except with the help of another person.

Free Prescriptions

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) free and (b) charged for prescriptions were issued in each year since 1997.

Don Touhig: The information is given in the following table:
	
		Prescriptions items dispensed in the community within Wales -- £ million
		
			  Free of charge Charged 
		
		
			 1997–98(9) 32.2 4.4 
			 1998–99(9) 33.1 4.5 
			 2001–02 38.0 5.1 
			 2002–03 40.4 5.3 
		
	
	(9) Estimate based on a 5 per cent. sample.
	Data for 1999–2000 is not available. Data for 1997–99 relates to the responsibility of the former Welsh Office, while the figures since then are the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.

Free Prescriptions

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many free prescriptions to the chronically ill were issued in each year since 1997.

Don Touhig: Information collected centrally for the National Assembly for Wales on prescriptions exempt from charge in Wales relates only to those conditions which are medically exempt. As prescription items dispensed for other chronic conditions are not identified separately it is not possible to give an overall figure.

Gun Crime

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many incidences of gun crime there were in Wales in 2002; how many there were in 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: There were 85 recorded crimes in Wales in 1997 involving a firearm other than an air weapon; the figure was 106 in 2002.
	Although the incidence of firearms offences is relatively low in Wales, too many people are still being killed or injured by firearms. This is unacceptable and is being addressed on a number of fronts, including:
	reducing the supply and availability of firearms, and
	effective police operations to drive down firearm offences.
	During the firearms amnesty earlier this year, 508 guns were handed in, in Wales. The proposed five-year minimum sentence for illegally selling, possessing or manufacturing prohibited firearms sends a strong message that we will not tolerate the illegal proliferation of guns within our society.

Manufactured Imports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary on the level of imports of manufactured goods into Wales.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales regularly meets the First Minister. In addition, I have regular bi-lateral meetings with the National Assembly for Wales's Economic Development Minister and discuss a wide range of issues, including trade levels of manufacturing goods in Wales.
	The level of exports for manufacturing goods in Wales since May 1997 to the quarter ending 2002 has been consistently higher than the level of imports to Wales.
	Current available statistics point to a continuation of this trend.
	Source:
	Her Majesty's Customs and Excise?UK Regional Trade Statistics.

NHS (Capital Expenditure)

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much capital expenditure there has been in the NHS in Wales in each of the last five years; and how much of that was attributable to private finance initiative projects.

Don Touhig: holding answer 10 November 2003
	In the 2002 Spending Review, the Government allocated an additional £251 million in 2003–04, £925 million in 2004–05 and £1,765 million in 2005–06 to Wales in accordance with the long standing Barnett formula. This included the allocations for health of £140/516/931 million announced by the Chancellor in his spring 2002 Budget.
	The allocation of public expenditure on services such as health is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

Top-up Fees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on higher education top-up fees in Wales.

Don Touhig: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales announced in his written statement of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 84WS, we propose, subject to parliamentary approval, to transfer to the National Assembly for Wales full responsibility for the tuition fee regime, including powers over new policy as regards variable fees.

Waiting Times

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for reducing waiting times for NHS treatment in Wales.

Don Touhig: I have regular meetings with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services, at which we discuss a range of health issues including waiting times.
	I am aware that the Assembly has very recently announced a new initiative to tackle long waiting times in Wales. Setting priorities for the Health Service in Wales, including waiting times, is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Rural Bodies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) Countryside Agency and (b) Rural Development Service employees will transfer to other government employment following the implementation of the Haskins Review; how many job losses she estimates there will be; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: In my statement on 11 November, I announced my intention to create an integrated agency that would incorporate elements of the work of English Nature, the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service where those functions will most enable the agency to reflect its new remit. Plans for how this agency will be set up, including arrangements for transferring staff, are now being developed. I would hope to give more details in the spring.

Rural Bodies

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she proposes that the independent role played by English Nature will be maintained under the proposals of the rural delivery review.

Alun Michael: The intention is to strengthen the independent role currently played by English Nature, not merely to maintain it. In her statement on 11 November, the Secretary of State announced her intention to create an integrated agency to incorporate elements of the work of English Nature, the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. The integrated agency will use the experience and expertise of its constituent parts. English Nature's worldwide reputation on biodiversity matters provides a strong foundation for this work. The integrated agency will provide independent policy advice to Government and will implement policy within the framework of the Government's approach to sustainable development.
	The exact status of the agency will be considered as part of the Government's full response and implementation plan, as my right hon. Friend made clear.

Recycling

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether the UK will meet its recycling targets for 2005.

Elliot Morley: National targets for England are to recycle and compost 17 per cent. of household waste in 2003–04 and 25 per cent. in 2005–06. Our current assessment of local authority performance is that we expect to meet the 2003–04 target and that, although challenging, the 2005–06 target is achievable.

Dairy Industry

Matthew Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the dairy industry.

Alun Michael: The Government recognise the difficulties caused by low farmgate prices and the challenges of adjusting to the new conditions faced by the reformed CAP, but we also believe that the UK dairy sector has a sustainable future. The UK has a comparative advantage in terms of climate and farm efficiency and size over many of its competitors and if the industry can work together to maximise its potential then there is no reason why it cannot succeed.

Dairy Industry

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she will take to increase the farmgate price of milk for British dairy farmers.

Alun Michael: The reasons for the low farmgate prices over the last few years are complex and cannot be reduced to a single factor. Many of these reasons require action by the industry itself. However, the Government can and have taken action in line with their strategy for sustainable farming and food to facilitate and promote the industry's efforts to become more competitive.

Dairy Industry

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the dairy industry.

Alun Michael: Ministers frequently meet representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain and are therefore aware of the issues affecting the sector. Matters affecting the whole supply chain are regularly discussed at the Dairy Supply Chain Forum chaired by my noble Friend, the Lord Whitty.

Dairy Industry

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the dairy industry.

Alun Michael: The Government recognise the difficulties caused by low farmgate prices and the challenges of adjusting to the new conditions faced by the reformed CAP, but we also believe that the UK dairy sector has a sustainable future. The UK has a comparative advantage in terms of climate and farm efficiency and size over many of its competitors and if the industry can work together to maximise its potential then there is no reason why it cannot succeed.

Transport (Environmental Impact)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on the environmental impacts from transport.

Elliot Morley: My ministerial colleagues and I have regular discussions with the ministerial team in the Department for Transport on many matters including environmental issues.

Sheep

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the European Commission's proposals on sheep identification.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government support the Commission's objective to improve sheep and goat identification but are very concerned that it has take full account of the particular needs and requirements of the UK's stratified and extensive sheep industry.
	We are currently undertaking negotiations in the Council of Ministers and are pressing hard for a satisfactory outcome for the UK industry.

Farm Subsidies

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the representations she has received from farming interest groups concerning the review of subsidies to farming.

Alun Michael: We have received responses from a wide range of stakeholders to the public consultation on the options available to member states under the agreement on reforming the common agricultural policy (CAP). There was close to unanimous support for our decision to decouple subsidy fully in England from 2005. The biggest issue to emerge from the consultation was whether to go for an historic or flat rate basis for the single farm payment and responses were divided on this. We are looking carefully at the responses to the consultation and will be making a decision soon on the model for the single farm payment.

Common Fisheries Policy

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the sea fish species whose stocks have increased in UK waters since the institution of the European common fisheries policy.

Ben Bradshaw: Fish stocks fluctuate considerably over time, and so comparing two arbitrarily chosen years is of limited value. Generally, however, pelagic stocks, such as mackerel and herring, are at higher levels than in 1983 when the common fisheries policy came into effect. A few demersal stocks, such as North sea haddock, are also at higher levels than in 1983. Stocks of prawns and shellfish have generally thrived.

Gangmasters

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  to what extent legislation applies to undocumented gangmaster-provided labour in the agricultural, horticultural and first-line food processing industries;
	(2)  what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement provisions are used to ensure that gangmasters in the agricultural, horticultural and first-line food processing industries comply with United Kingdom legislation;
	(3)  how many gangmasters providing labour in the agricultural, horticultural and first-line food processing industries have been found to be in breach of United Kingdom law since 1997; how many of those gangmasters were subsequently prosecuted; and what sanctions and penalties were applied to those gangmasters found guilty following prosecution.

Ben Bradshaw: This information will take some time to collate. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information in due course.

Gangmasters

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many gangmasters operate within the agricultural, horticultural and first-line food processing industries in the UK; and how many gangworkers are employed within these industries.

Ben Bradshaw: Information about the number of gangmasters operating in the agricultural, horticultural and first-line food processing industries in the UK and the number of workers they supply is not collected by Government. In evidence given to the EFRA Select Committee's inquiry into gangmasters it was estimated that the number of gangmasters operating in agriculture and horticulture could be approaching 3,000 of which some 250 are thought to be substantial businesses. Information about the total number of seasonal and casual workers employed in agriculture and horticulture is collected by Defra's annual Census of agriculture and horticulture. In June 2002 (when the Census was taken) some 64,000 seasonal and casual workers were employed. This figure will include both workers supplied by gangmasters to employers in agriculture and horticulture and workers who are employed directly by those employers.

Habitats Directive

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the regulatory impact of the UK regime for administering the Habitats Directive.

Ben Bradshaw: The Habitats Directive is principally transposed into UK law by regulations which came into force in 1994 and 1995. Since then no overall assessment has been made. Nature conservation is a devolved matter and therefore any assessment in Scotland, North Ireland and Wales will be a matter for the relevant administrations. In England, assessments are carried out before candidate Special Areas of Conservation are submitted to the European Commission under Article 4 of the Directive. My Department has also published Regulatory Impact Assessments on recently proposed draft amendments to the regulations in England, and on draft regulations to implement the Directive in the offshore zone.

Beef Exports

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what compensation has been offered to UK farmers as a consequence of the unauthorised ban on British beef imports to France; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: No compensation has been offered to UK farmers for the effects of the illegal French ban on imports of UK beef. Any bids for compensation must come from those affected and be pursued with the French authorities.

"A" Rated Appliances

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will respond to the letter of 24 October from the Chief Executive of the Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers' Association about the ability of small electrical retailers to sell 'A' rated appliances.

Alun Michael: Letters sent direct to the Department from Organisations and Members of the public are not recorded centrally but are passed to the appropriate policy Division for response. I understand that the letter referred to by the hon. Member is being dealt with and the Chief Executive of the Radio, Electrical and Television Retailers' Association will receive a response shortly.

Abattoirs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice and assistance will be given to small abattoirs to meet health and safety standards in the next two years.

Ben Bradshaw: We are working in close co-operation with industry representatives, the Meat and Livestock Commission and regional partners to secure an appropriate network of abattoirs throughout the country. This includes the continuing role of small and medium sized enterprises. Official meat inspection costs are being offset by the Food Standards Agency by more than £20 million per annum. In addition we have advised abattoir owners on the requirements for blood collection under the new Animal By-Products regulations, particularly on how compliance costs for small businesses could be minimised. We will continue to take a constructive approach to the implementation of regulatory requirements including implementation of hazard analysis critical control point procedures.

Agriculture

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what grants are available to (a) dairy, (b) arable, (c) sheep, (d) beef, (e) poultry and (f) pig farmers in the Chorley constituency.

Ben Bradshaw: Farmers in Chorley can apply to participate in the following schemes under the England Rural Development Programme: Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Organic Farming Scheme, Farm Woodland Premium Scheme, Woodland Grant Scheme, Energy Crops Scheme, Vocational Training Scheme, Processing and Marketing Grant, and Rural Enterprise Scheme. Any sheep and suckler cow producers whose holdings are within or part within the Less Favoured Area boundary are entitled to claim Hill Farm Allowance.
	The Farm Waste Grant (Nitrate Vulnerable Zones) Scheme provides help to farmers in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones who are installing or improving farm waste facilities.

Agriculture

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on grants given by regional development agencies for agricultural shows in (a) England and (b) the North West over the last two years.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	I have not been able to answer this Question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Agriculture

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the grant given to the Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society by the North West Development Agency for the 2003 Royal Lancashire Show.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Lancashire Rural Recovery Partnership, which is funded by the North West Development Agency, provided a grant of £32,578 to fund some of the marketing costs for the 2003 Royal Lancashire Show. This was to help publicise the fact that the Show was taking place at a new venue for the first time in 2003. The funding also contributed towards the promotion of a local product event aimed at generating awareness of local speciality products.

Agriculture

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 17th November; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: I will write to my hon. Friend with this information shortly.

Air Quality (Heathrow)

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has commissioned into air quality in the Heathrow area; and if she will publish the findings.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has commissioned Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants Ltd to model air quality in the Heathrow area. The report is expected April 2004. The Department also assesses air quality at a national level and in the Greater London area and publishes the results on its air quality website, the Air Quality Archive. Both these levels of assessment include Heathrow.
	National air quality monitoring data are available at www.airquality.co.uk. The latest published national air quality modelling report "UK air quality modelling for annual reporting 2001 on ambient air quality assessment under Council Directives 96/62/EC and 1999/30/EC" is available at www.airquality.co.uk/archive/reports; as too is the latest research report modelling London's air quality "Modelling air quality for London using ADMS-Urban".

American Ships (Decommissioning)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date Able UK applied to her Department for (a) a dredging licence and (b) a licence to build a protective bund for a proposed dry dock in respect of the planned decommissioning of United States vessels.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 10 November 2003
	The information is as follows:
	(a) Defra regulates the disposal of dredged material at sea rather than dredging per se. The Department received an application for disposal of dredged material on 20 October 2003.
	(b) Able UK applied for a FEPA licence to build a coffer dam at the mouth of the TERRC basin on 26 September 2003.
	A FEPA licence had been applied for successfully before but had lapsed.

Atlantic Ocean

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what data her Department has collated on the salinity of the seawater of the North East Atlantic Ocean over the last 20 year period; and if she will publish the data.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the deep sea salinity levels of gulf stream waters off the coast of the UK were in each of the past 10 years.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member, and my hon. Friend with this information shortly.

Atrazine (Maize)

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the results were of the Farm Scale Evaluation trials in respect of conventional maize crops in the 17 per cent. of cases where atrazine was not used as a herbicide.

Elliot Morley: The results of the farm-scale evaluations published on 16 October 2003 were based on the range of contemporary practice used by the participating farmers for conventional maize. The published papers did not present separate results for each conventional practice that this encompassed. Such analysis may be possible based on the data collected and I understand the research team are currently considering this. If any further information becomes available it will be published in the normal way.

Badgers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action has been taken to prevent recolonisation of badger setts after clearance of TB-infected badgers in Krebs reactive areas.

Ben Bradshaw: All trapped setts are subject to the same procedures, irrespective of the TB status of the badgers taken from them, and no action is taken to prevent re-colonisation of any setts in reactive areas.

Badgers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what procedures are carried out in respect of badger setts from which TB-infected badgers have been removed.

Ben Bradshaw: All procedures are standardised and do not vary between setts from which TB infected badgers and non-infected badgers are taken.
	Within the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, no specific action is taken against setts from which badgers have been removed. Following the removal of traps, at the conclusion of trapping operations, techniques such as sticking holes (placing sticks across them) may, occasionally, be used to assist subsequent surveys assess post-cull badger activity.

Badgers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what radius was adopted to describe the area designated for badger culls in (a) the Krebs proactive and reactive culling protocols and (b) culling protocols adopted prior to 1988.

Ben Bradshaw: The Krebs proactive and reactive culling areas were chosen from localities in Cornwall, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestshire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire and Wiltshire with the highest incidence of TB in cattle; each of the ten proactive and ten reactive areas measures approximately 10,000 hectares (100 sq km). Whilst culling is carried out across an entire proactive area, in reactive areas culling takes place only on and around farms which have had a TB breakdown.
	The culling protocols adopted prior to 1986 were the Gassing Strategy (1975–1982) and the Clean Ring Strategy (1982–5). In the Gassing Strategy the area of badger removal extended up to 1 km from farms with confirmed TB breakdowns. The mean area of badger removal in Clean Ring Strategy areas was about 9 sq. km.

Badgers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research the Department has commissioned on the use of anaesthesia in badger setts prior to lethal gassing.

Ben Bradshaw: No research has been commissioned in this area.
	Gassing of badgers has been discounted as a culling option because it is considered to be inhumane.

Badgers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badgers have been subject to post-mortem examination for TB in England in the past 10 years; how many were TB reactors; and what proportion of TB lesions found were considered to be of a type which would render badgers capable of transmitting bovine TB.

Ben Bradshaw: Excluding badgers taken in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) or in the seven counties road trafic accident survey, 14,387 badger carcases have been examined of which 2,995 (20.5 per cent.) were considered to be positive. The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISO) recommended that, pending completion of the RBCT, interim reports on numbers and locations of badgers culled and TB prevalences should not be published in order to avoid encouraging illegal action against badgers, deterring participation in the trial and to protect the trial's statistical validity.
	Of the badgers considered to be infected, only those with lesions detected in the lungs, pleura, kidneys and intestines are considered to be likely to be shedding M.bovis and so infectious. 447 (15.1 per cent. had lesions in these tissues.

Barn Owls

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received from the Highways Agency on implementing the recommendations in its Biodiversity Action plan on steps to halt the decline in the barn owl population.

Ben Bradshaw: The Highways Agency Biodiversity Action Plan (HABAP), published in 2002, includes a specific Species Action Plan (SAP) for Barn Owls. The stated aim of the SAP is
	"to reduce the level of incidental mortality on new and existing roads whilst ensuring favourable management of barn owl foraging and nesting habitat."
	This document sets out a number of related objectives and associated actions required to achieve them.
	The Highways Agency has commissioned its own study on the barn owl and is currently reviewing the findings of its own commissions and those of others. The outcome of this review will contribute to the publication of advice on implementation of appropriate actions in accordance with the SAP.
	The Government have set new targets to protect and enhance biodiversity as part of The Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. The Framework and associated targets cover all central Government Departments and their Executive Agencies, including the Highways Agency. Departments will report annually on progress.

Barn Owls

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to implement changes in agricultural policy to improve the (a) quantity and (b) quality of barn owl habitats away from major roads.

Ben Bradshaw: Through our agri-environment schemes we have encouraged farmers to provide many thousands of hectares of grassland habitat, including for example over 20,000 hectares of cereal field margins. These less-intensively managed areas are good habitats for small mammals and provide barn owls with somewhere other than roadside verges to hunt their prey.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which organisations the Department takes advice on the control of TB in cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG) is a group of independent scientists who advise the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how best to tackle the problem of cattle TB. The ISG was set up following the acceptance by Ministers of the recommendations contained in the Krebs Report (1997).
	In addition, the TB Forum aims to bring together experts and interested parties to consider new measures which might be taken to control TB in cattle. Membership consists of representatives from the British Veterinary Association, the British Cattle Veterinary Association, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Country Land and Business Association, English Nature, the Farmers Union of Wales, The National Farmers' Union, NFU (Wales), Wildlife Trusts, the National Federation of Badger Groups, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the National Beef Association, the Tenant Farmers Association and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
	Professor John Bourne, Chairman of the ISG is also a member of the Forum, which is chaired jointly by the Chief Veterinary Officer, Jim Scudamore, and the Head of the Animal Health Group at Defra, Peter Nash.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the estimated population of badgers in England was between 1973 and 1980; and what the estimate is for 2003;
	(2)  how many closed dairy herds in England are registered with the Department;
	(3)  what steps farmers can take to ensure that their cattle are not exposed to M. bovis infection where pasture might be frequented by badgers actively shedding M. bovis vacilli;
	(4)  if she will make a statement on the conditions under which a badger is capable of transmitting TB to cattle; and what the mechanism of transmission is;
	(5)  what protocol was adopted for the ecological survey carried out as part of the Krebs trials;
	(6)  what the potential maximum period of infectivity of adult badgers demonstrating active lesions of M. bovis infection is;
	(7)  what assessment she has made of the success rate, in terms of the percentage of badgers killed in a defined area, of the policy of gassing setts adopted prior to 1986;
	(8)  how many cows have been subject to post-mortem examination for TB in each of the past 10 years; how many were found to be TB reactors; and how many of the reactors revealed tubercular lesions in the udder capable of contaminating milk.

Ben Bradshaw: I will write to the hon. Member with this information shortly.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice the Department have given to farmers on keeping closed herds.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has provided a significant amount of advice and codes on the health and welfare of livestock. The Defra leaflet, "TB in Cattle—Reducing the Risk" suggests that farmers consider moving to a closed herd system. However, such a system still needs to be combined with other disease prevention measures to reduce risks of disease introduction and spread.
	Due to loss of livestock during FMD, there was a need to replace livestock from outside sources. Defra produced a leaflet "Golden rules for a healthy herd" that gave specific advice on preventative strategies for avoiding introduction of the most important cattle diseases during restocking.
	Defra has also produced a concise list of disease prevention measures (including the need to always know the health status of animals being bought or moved) in the form of a yellow card which was developed with livestock industry representatives and vets. It was sent to all livestock farmers in 2002, and is available on the Defra website.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether perturbation becomes a significant factor in the spread of TB to cattle where there has been incomplete clearance of badgers in a Krebs reactive area.

Ben Bradshaw: We do not know the significance of badger perturbation in the reactive culling areas of the Krebs trial. However, it is known that badgers in a culled population do exhibit changes in their ecology and behaviour which may result in an increased risk of disease transmission.
	Research on perturbation is being carried out on behalf of Defra by Oxford University and the Central Science Laboratory. Results will published once the research programme has been completed.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions are required of dairy farmers in respect of their premises following removal of (a) TB reactor and (b) infected cattle from their premises.

Ben Bradshaw: Movement restrictions are imposed on all cattle herds when TB reactors are disclosed at the TB test. In the case of dairy herds, the Chief Environmental Health Officer will be informed, to enable decisions to made about protecting public health. If disease is confirmed, the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control will also be informed.
	Immediately following their identification, all reactors should be isolated from contact with any other cattle. These cattle must remain in isolation until removal for slaughter. Animals that react inconclusively to the test must also be isolated both from the herd and from the conclusive reactors. They must remain in isolation pending retest.
	After removal of reactor(s) or affected animals a Cleansing and Disinfection Notice is issued to the owner. The notice covers the isolation building and any other areas of the farm identified by the Veterinary Officer as likely to be infected. Up to a month is allowed to carry out the disinfection and cleansing.
	Movement restrictions remain in place until the herd has tested clear at least once (twice where infection is confirmed after post-mortem).

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what class of pathogen bovis is.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra classify animal pathogens for the purpose of administering the Importation of Animal Pathogens Order 1980 and the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998. Mycobacterium bovis is classified as a Group 2 animal pathogen.
	Pathogens classified as group 2 are disease producing organisms which are either exotic or produce notifiable disease, but have a low risk of spread from the laboratory.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely incidence of TB breakdown in cattle in Krebs reactive areas, if 100 per cent. culling of badger population in the areas had been carried out.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the protocols for the Krebs trial, badgers are culled using cage trapping, which is estimated to remove around 80 per cent. of the badger population. Analysis of the trial data from reactive areas is therefore only able to indicate what effect this level of removal on and around farms which have had a TB breakdown will have on the incidence of TB breakdown in the reactive area as a whole. It is not possible to estimate what effect an alternative capture method, which would remove 100 per cent., rather than 80 per cent., of the badgers would have.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether cattle-to-cattle transmission of TB has occurred in the Krebs reactive trial area.

Ben Bradshaw: It is highly likely that some cattle-to-cattle transmission of TB has occurred in all Krebs trial areas, although it is impossible to quantify the number of herd breakdowns which might have been due to this means of infection.
	An epidemiological survey in the Krebs badger culling trial areas, known as "TB99", is looking at risk factors in TB outbreaks. A preliminary analysis is set out in the Third Report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the OIE limit of the incidence of TB in cattle necessary to maintain TB-free status trading for the UK, expressed as a percentage of the national herd.

Ben Bradshaw: The Office of International des Epizooties (OIE) provides expertise for the control of animal diseases.
	Article 2.3.3.2 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code states that for a Country or zone to qualify as officially free from bovine tuberculosis, shall satisfy the following requirements:
	Bovine tuberculosis is notifiable in the country;
	99.8 per cent. of the herds in the considered geographical area have been officially free from bovine tuberculosis for at least the past three years as disclosed by periodic testing of all cattle in the area to determine the absence of bovine tuberculosis.
	Periodic testing of all cattle is not required in an area where a surveillance programme reveals that 99.9 per cent. of the cattle have been in herds officially free from tuberculosis for at least six years.
	Defra statistics on the incidence of bovine TB are not collated in a format that allows for a comparison with the OIE incidence of TB.
	Table 1 as follows shows the percentage of the national herd that was under restriction between 2001 and 2003.
	Current EU restrictions relating to BSE prevent export of live bovines from the United Kingdom. Export of beef and beef products are permissible under the Date-based Export Scheme (for UK origin beef), or, the XAP Scheme (for beef of foreign origin). Beef fromcattle under TB restrictions cannot be exported.
	
		Table 1 percentage of national herd under restriction
		
			 Year 2003(10) 2002(11) 2001(11) 
		
		
			 Total number of herds registered on Ventnet 96,865 99,584 105,714 
			 Of which were under TB2 restrictions because of a TB incident at some time during the year 4,740 4,174 2,511 
			 Percentage of national herd under restriction (cumulative figure for the year) 4.8 4.1 2.3 
		
	
	(10) Data represents 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2003–11–24
	(11) Data for 2001 and 2002 are not comparable to other years, because TB testing was significantly reduced during the foot and mouth outbreak, and when testing resumed, it was targeted at higher risk herds.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of registered cattle herds in the UK are under TB restriction.

Ben Bradshaw: The data requested is not available for the UK. However, between 1 January and 30 September 2003 approximately 4.9 per cent. (4,740*) of cattle herds in Great Britain had been under TB restriction.
	* Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database on the 20–21 October 2003—subject to change as outstanding TB test and culture results become available.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many carcases produced from cows not reported as TB reactors originating from farms in England were found to be positive for M. bovis or otherwise infected with bovine tuberculosis as a result of samples taken at slaughterhouses in the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: All cattle slaughtered in licensed slaughterhouses are subject to inspection by Meat Hygiene Service officials. Where lesions suggestive of TB are found at post-mortem, samples are sent for laboratory culture of M. bovis, the causative organism of bovine tuberculosis. Cases identified by the MHS (but not sent for slaughter as reactors) are "slaughterhouse cases".
	
		
			   Confirmed slaughterhousecases 
			  Total slaughterhouse cases Number Percentage 
		
		
			 2002 385 132 34 
			 2001 194 65 36 
			 2000 239 114 48 
			 1999 178 92 52 
			 1998 94 50 53 
			 1997 10 4 40 
			 1996 10 3 30 
			 1995 4 3 75 
		
	
	Data not currently available for 1994 and 1993

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) standard, (b) upper level, (c) lower level and (d) average payment made for bovine TB compensation was for (i) commercial dairy cattle and (ii) pedigree dairy cattle in (A) England and (B) Wales for each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: As compensation for bovine tuberculosis (TB) is based on individual valuations of cattle to be slaughtered for disease control reasons, information in the format requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	The number of cattle slaughtered and overall expenditure on compensation for cattle slaughtered under TB control measures in England and in Wales, for the financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03, is given in the attached table:
	
		Number of cattle slaughtered under TB control measures and expenditure on TB compensation 1998–99—2002–03
		
			  England Wales 
			  Number of cattle slaughtered(12) Compensation paid (13)(£,000) Number of cattle slaughtered(12) Compensation paid(13) (£,000) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1998–99 4,928 3,755 1,189 683 
			 1999–2000 6,063 4,978 1,262 1,304 
			 2000–01 6,177 5,715 1,808 1,228 
			 2001–02 (14)6,644 7,367 (14)2,337 2,366 
			 2002–03 (14),(15)19,228 26,076 (14),(15)5,491 8,087 
		
	
	(12) TB reactors plus direct contacts.
	(13) The compensation figures in the table relate only to compensation paid. Previous published information has included valuation and haulage costs, and salvage receipts..
	(14) Provisional data only
	(15) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of TB reactors identified and slaughtered in 2002–03 is not comparable to those identified and slaughtered in previous years.

Climate Change

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the potential effects of climate change on British agriculture.

Ben Bradshaw: Since 1987 MAFF and now Defra has commissioned over £6 million of ongoing research focused on (i) identifying the impacts of potential climate change on UK agriculture; and (ii) helping farmers to develop adaptation strategies to manage the impacts of climate change. A report which summarises this research was published in early 2003 and is available on UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) website: http://www.ukcip.org.uk/Agriculture/agriculture.htm.
	Furthermore, in 2000 we commissioned a report 'Climate Change and Agriculture in the UK' aimed at raising awareness of climate change within the farming community. Where sufficient evidence was available, this report summarised possible adaptation strategies to cope with expected changes; where the knowledge base was less robust, the report set out the potential impacts on UK agriculture. This report is available on the Defra website: http://defraweb/environ/climate/climatechange/index.htm

Climate Change

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will increase climate change agreement targets for companies not involved in the EU Emissions Trading scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: The EU Emissions Trading Scheme will come into force on 1 January 2005. Operators in the Climate Change Agreements within sectors covered by the scheme will be given the opportunity to apply to opt out of the first phase of the scheme between 2005 and 2007. Those operators exercising this opt out will be subject, along with all other operators not covered by the EU ETS, to the provisions of the Climate Change Agreements for a review of targets in 2004 and 2008 to ensure that they continue to represent the potential for cost effective energy savings taking account of any changes in technical or market conditions.

Combined Heat and Power

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase combined heat and power generation.

Ben Bradshaw: The measures to support CHP announced in the Energy White Paper, taken together with measures we have previously introduced and detailed in the draft CHP Strategy, will significantly help CHP. These will be brought together in the final Government Strategy for CHP to 2010, which we will publish before the end of March 2004.

Dairy Farming

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the Government has put in place in enable dairy farmers to add value to their products.

Ben Bradshaw: Support is available through the England Rural Development Programme for farmers wishing to add value to their produce. The Processing and Marketing Grant can provide up to 30 per cent. of eligible costs towards projects to improve the processing and marketing infrastructure of mainstream agricultural products. The Rural Enterprise Scheme (RES) provides assistance of up to 50 per cent. to farmers to diversify their businesses, which might involve on-farm processing and retailing of their produce. Help can also be given through RES to market added value, quality, agricultural products.

Dairy Farming

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government has sought to amend EC Regulation 2597/97 in accordance with the Milk Task Force recommendations of December 2001.

Ben Bradshaw: We wrote to interested parties on changing the rules on the fat content of drinking milk in Council Regulation (EC) No. 2597/97 in February 2002, as part of our follow-up to the Milk Task Force and to prepare for possible Commission proposals to amend the regulations. The response we received was mixed. Whilst there was some support for liberalising the rules, there was also concern that it might undermine the well established categories of drinking milk to the detriment of consumers and dairy processors. The Commission in their report on these rules, which was published earlier this year, also found no consensus in favour of changes. It has therefore proposed no changes for the time being, but will initiate a review in 2007, with a view to harmonising rules across the enlarged Community in 2009 when the existing derogations from the rules for Finland, Sweden and several accession countries will expire.

Dairy Farming

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government supports decoupling of the dairy sector in 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government believes that by breaking the link between farm subsidies and production, decoupling will reconnect farmers to their markets, reduce damaging environmental impacts and reduce bureaucracy. Our economic assessment also indicates that decoupling should have a beneficial impact on farm incomes. We are therefore minded to decouple dairy direct payments in 2005. We will make a final decision once we have the results of our ongoing consultation on the dairy elements of the reform package, which closes on 3 February.

Dairy Farming

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets the Government has set for (a) levels of production and (b) the number of producers in dairy farming.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government has not set targets for levels of milk production or for the number of producers in dairy farming.

Darwin Mounds

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of measures to protect the Darwin Mounds.

Ben Bradshaw: We have proposed the designation of the Darwin Mounds as a Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive. EC measures to protect the Darwin Mounds from damaging fishing activities came into effect on 20 August 2003. The area where restrictions are in place is closely monitored by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. No breaches of the restrictions have been identified.

Dog Identification Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the tattooing of dogs for identification purposes.

Elliot Morley: The Government have considered the option of introducing a dog identification scheme, but have no current plans to do so. Defra promotes responsible dog ownership through byelaws, education and publicity.
	Tattooing is an option for owners, but is not an option for statutory identification schemes such as pet passports where microchips are used.

Egg Industry

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume in tonnes of (a) shelled eggs and (b) whole egg powder was imported into the United Kingdom in the last 10 years for which figures are available; and from which countries.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows UK imports of (a) shell eggs and (b) whole egg powder between 1993 and 2002.
	
		UK imports of birds' eggs, in shell and powdered, 1993–2002 -- Tonnes
		
			 Product/country 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Eggs in shell   
			 Netherlands 7,797 12,421 9,240 10,864 8,775 5,098 7,905 17,946 10,952 14,865 
			 Germany 2,544 2,389 2,256 3,300 2,292 2,934 3,792 10,807 14,621 9,011 
			 France 1,382 2,642 3,118 3,338 2,217 2,443 1,513 2,845 6,809 8,723 
			 Irish Republic 714 1,875 2,216 1,359 1,774 1,472 865 1,801 2,245 1,981 
			 Spain 42 68 99 115 — — — 32 4,440 9,499 
			 Belgium-Lux 1,350 2,954 2,447 1,681 663 169 681 1,320 1,039 934 
			 Denmark 935 1,313 1,649 993 527 664 816 761 698 1,000 
			 Finland — — 278 1,398 1,282 674 122 309 132 392 
			 USA 2 6 3 4 83 53 130 864 1,087 2,020 
			 Italy 4 1 1 — 68 — 10 31 1,591 103 
			 Sweden — 0 — 248 — 16 160 36 11 120 
			 Austria — — 74 — — — — — 65 85 
			 Portugal — — — — — — — — — 104 
			 Other 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 8 0 28 
			 Eggs in shell total 14,771 23,670 21,382 23,299 17,681 13,522 15,997 36,760 43,692 48,864 
			
			 Egg powder   
			 France 1,375 1,679 1,305 1,688 1,879 2,472 2,122 2,015 1,961 3,027 
			 Netherlands 983 1,305 1,561 1,601 1,813 1,807 2,020 1,709 2,030 1,531 
			 Belgium-Lux 222 182 273 287 178 198 523 273 337 1,717 
			 USA 98 169 151 225 295 482 184 473 313 186 
			 Denmark 155 138 100 192 229 224 195 211 535 541 
			 Italy 4 56 197 147 334 243 75 44 45 50 
			 Germany 156 107 150 50 98 113 108 97 78 154 
			 Sweden 12 2 3 2 — 5 56 135 187 107 
			 Austria — — — — — — 0 — — 214 
			 Other 61 0 0 28 181 42 16 40 2 37 
			 Egg powder total 3,065 3,639 3,741 4,219 5,007 5,586 5,299 4,997 5,488 7,563 
		
	
	Source:
	HM Customs and Excise
	Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities and Food) Consultancy Trade and IT, ESD, DEFRA

Energy Consumption

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to encourage households to reduce their energy consumption.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	The Energy White Paper details the steps being taken to encourage greater energy efficiency in the UK, and sets out an ambitious strategy for energy efficiency up to 2010 and beyond. Energy efficiency is expected to deliver about half the carbon savings needed to meet our goals for 2020. This will mean roughly doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement of recent decades.
	A wide range of policies and measures have already been established to encourage energy efficiency across the economy. These include:
	Climate Change Agreements, where companies can gain an 80 per cent. discount from the Climate Change Levy for eligible processes by entering into Agreements and meeting energy efficiency targets;
	the work of the Carbon Trust, which takes the lead on energy efficiency for business and the public sector, and supports the development of a low carbon economy in the UK. The Trust was launched in April 2001 as one way in which CCL receipts are recycled to business;
	the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which will generate significant emissions reductions and is the first economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world. The UK Government is also working towards implementing the European ETS, due to start on 1 January 2005;
	funding for the Energy Saving Trust to run a number of programmes to promote the sustainable and efficient use of energy in homes. The Trust also facilitates the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, which brings together key stakeholders to support and promote domestic energy efficiency;
	encouraging improvements in product standards so that energy-using appliances operate more efficiently;
	the Building Regulations, updated in 2002, which are already delivering significant energy efficiency improvements in new and existing buildings.
	Looking to the future, the White Paper proposes some key measures, including extension of the Energy Efficiency Commitment beyond 2005 at possibly twice its current level of activity; improvements in building standards through further revisions to the Building Regulations; and faster improvements in the standards of new household appliances.
	In Budget 2003, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that he would consult further on specific fiscal measures to promote energy efficiency. This consultation closed on the 24 October and the Government is grateful to all those who contributed. All responses are being actively considered to help inform policy development.
	The Government intends to publish an Energy Efficiency Implementation Plan within a year of the White Paper's publication, which will provide further detail on all of these policies.

Environmental Protection

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will take into account in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the EU REACH proposals the economic benefits to UK environmental testing laboratories of the testing work required.

Alun Michael: On 29 October 2003 the European Commission presented a proposal for the regulation of chemicals. The Government will carry out a UK consultation early in the new year which will be accompanied by a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
	The impact assessment will aim to assess all the major costs and benefits, both direct and indirect to industry and make an assessment of the wider impact on the UK economy.

Environmental Protection

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the DTI/Defra Joint Environmental Markets Unit is consulted when her Department carries out regulatory impact assessments of new environmental protection measures to ensure that benefits of the measures to the UK (a) environmental technology and (b) services industry are included.

Elliot Morley: Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) of new environmental protection measures are undertaken in accordance with the Cabinet OfficeGuidelines, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment". Among other things, this says RIAs should take account of the potential dynamic benefits of regulations and an assessment of all the business sectors affected—both positively and negatively. As part of this process, policy-makers consult with relevant stakeholders, including where appropriate representatives of the environmental goods and services industry who will then have the opportunity to make the case for the benefits. Like other parts of Government with an interest, the Joint DTI/Defra Environmental Markets Unit will contribute as appropriate and as part of the policy-making process within Government.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Joint Meetings of the Management and/or Regulatory Committee in the field of agriculture-agrimonetary questions, (b) the EU Standing Forestry Committee and (c) the EU Committee for the adaptation to technical progress and the implementation of the Directive on the control of volatile organic compound emissions resulting from the storage of petrol and its distribution from terminals to service stations during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The EU Joint Meetings of the Management and/or Regulatory Committee in the field of agriculture-agrimonetary questions
	The Agrimonetary Management Committee met during the Danish Presidency on 16 October 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 9 April 2003. The agenda included aspects of agrimonetary compensation and a minor amendment to the agrimonetary regulations.
	(b) The EU standing Forestry Committee
	The EU standing Forestry Committee met during the Danish Presidency on 27 November and 4 December 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 10 February, 7 April and 5 June 2003. Issues discussed included regulations to monitor pollution and prevent fires, to establish a European Forest Information and Communication Network and implementation of national programmes concerning forest protection measures.
	(c) The EU Committee for the adaption to technical progress and the implementation of the Directive on the control of volatile organic compound emissions resulting from the storage of petrol and its distribution from terminals to service stations The EU Committee for the adaption to technical progress and the implementation of the Directive on the control of volatile organic compound emissions resulting from the storage of petrol and its distribution from terminals to service stations did not meet during either the Danish or Greek
	Presidencies.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of the Directive on the quality of fresh water, (b) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for seeds and (c) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for live plants and floriculture products during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The EU Committee for the adaption to scientific and technical progress of the Directive on the quality of fresh water
	This committee has never met. The role of the Committee, if it should meet, is set out in article 12 of the Directive. It is to deliver its opinion on amendments proposed by the Commission to the G values and to the methods of analysis set out in Annexes to the Directive where amendments are necessary to adapt the Directive's provisions to technical or scientific progress. The Committee has equivalent functions in relation to Directive 79/923/EC on the quality required of Shellfish Waters.
	(b) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for seeds
	The Seeds Management Committee met jointly with the Sugar Management Committee during the Danish Presidency on 19 December 2002, and jointly with the Cereals Management Committee during the Greek Presidency on 9 January 2003, to discuss a draft Regulation setting the minimum aid rate for certain agricultural products for the Outermost Regions (Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores).
	(c) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for live plants and floriculture products
	The Management Committee for live plants and floriculture products did not meet during the Danish and Greek Presidencies.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Equatorial Guinea), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Estonia) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Russia) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of the Joint Committees listed, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Guinea Bissau), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Morocco) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Gambia) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of the Joint Committees listed, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Poland), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Greenland) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Sáo Tomé) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Poland)
	The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of this Joint Committee, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings. (b) The Fisheries Joint Committee (EU-Greenland)
	The Fisheries Joint Committee (EU-Greenland) did not meet during the Danish Presidency. It met during the Greek Presidency on 21 May and 18 June 2003. The discussions were about the mid-term review of the Fourth EU/Greenland Protocol.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings. The UK delegation to this committee was led by Defra and included a Scottish Executive official.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.
	(c) The Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Sao Tome)
	The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of this Joint Committee, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Guinea), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Cape Verde) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Lithuania) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of the Joint Committees listed, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Latvia), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Senegal) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Argentina) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of the Joint Committees listed, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Mauritius), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Côte d'Ivoire) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Seychelles) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Comoros), (b) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Angola) and (c) the Fisheries Joint Committee (EEC-Madagascar) during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK does not have any fishing interest in the waters concerned and accordingly did not attend any of the meetings of the Joint Committees listed, nor does Defra keep records of these meetings.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Eco-label Regulatory Committee, (b) the EU Advisory Committee on Veterinary Training and (c) the EU Management Committee of the Common Organisations of Agricultural Markets for Poultry, Meat and Eggs during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Eco-label Regulatory Committee
	The Eco-label Regulatory Committee met during the Danish Presidency on 25 September and 4 December 2002, and during the Greek Presidency on 4 February 2003. Issues discussed at the Committee included votes on ecolabelling criteria.
	(b) The Advisory Committee on Veterinary Training
	The EU Advisory Committee on Veterinary Training committee was abolished in 2000, therefore the Committee did not meet during either the Danish or the Greek Presidency.
	(c) The EU Management Committee of the Common Organisations of Agricultural Markets for Poultry, Meat and Eggs
	The EU Management Committee of the Common Organisations of Agricultural Markets for Poultry, Meat and Eggs met during the Danish Presidency 9 July, 18 September, 17 October, 19 November and 10 December 2002. It met during the Greek Presidency on 21 January, 18 February, 11 March, 8 April, 20 May and 17 June 2003. The agendas contained items relating to the operation of the EU egg and poultry regimes, including inter alia, export refunds, market information and regulations implementing various aspects of the EU regimes. Traditionally items relating to EU rules on honey are also discussed in this committee.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Animal Nutrition Section of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, (b) the EU Committee on the action programme on rare diseases in the framework of the action plan for public health and (c) the EU Standing Veterinary Committee during the Danish and Greek Presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: (a) and (c) The EU Standing Veterinary Committee was replaced by two Sections of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health: Animal Health and Welfare covering animal health veterinary issues; and the Biological Control of the Food Chain, covering publich health veterinary issues. Details of these Sections and the Animal Nutrition Section, including meeting dates and minutes, can be found on the links:
	Animal Nutrition
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/rc/scfcah/anim nut/indexen.html
	Animal Health and Welfare
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/rc/scfcah/ah aw/index en.html
	Biological Control of the Food Chain
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/rc/scfcah/biological/index en.html
	No representatives of the Scottish Executive were present at these meetings. Formal preparatory meetings are not normally held for Standing Committee meetings. However, prior to Standing Committee, comments and advice are sought from colleagues (including the Scottish Executive) and interested parties to help formulate the United Kingdom's position.
	(b) The EU Committee on the action programme on rare diseases, in the framework of the action plan for public health, did not meet during the Danish or Greek Presidencies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the Management Committee of the common organisation of agricultural markets for milk and milk products, (b) the EU Committee on organic production of agricultural products and (c) the EU Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Management Committee of the common organisation of agricultural markets for milk and milk products
	The Management Committee for milk and milk products met during the Danish Presidency on 11 and 25 July, 29 August, 12 and 26 September, 10 and 24 October, 14 and 28 November and 12 December 2002. During the Greek Presidency it met on 16 and 30 January, 13 and 27 February, 13 and 27 March, 10 and 24 April, 15 and 28 May, and 12 and 26 June 2003. Issues discussed at the Committee included matters related to prices, aid and marketing of milk and milk products.
	(b) The EU Committee on organic production of agricultural products
	The Standing Committee on Organic Farming and its associated working groups met during the Danish Presidency on 8–10 July, 5 and 30 September, 1, 7 to 9 and 15 October, 13 November and 4 to 6 and 12 December 2002. During the Greek Presidency it met on 21, 22, 27 and 28 January; 4 to 6 and 27 February; 14 and 26 March; 1, 2 to 3 and 29 April; 14 and 21 to 23 May and 12 and 13 June 2003. Issues discussed included inspection arrangements for feed for organic livestock, seeds for use in organic farming, additives permitted in organic food, imports to the EU from third countries, the use of conventional ingredients in feed for organic livestock, conversion of livestock for organic production and the proposed EU Organic Action Plan.
	(c) The EU Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds
	The ORNIS Committee (the Committee for the adaptation to technical and scientific progress of the Directive on conservation of wild birds) did not meet during the Danish Presidency. It met once during the Greek Presidency on 26 June 2003. The agenda included EU enlargement preparations concerning the Birds Directive, the Commission's Sustainable Hunting Initiative, the state of progress for the classification of new Special Protection Areas, progress on new monitoring and reporting initiatives for nature directives (including development of bird indicators) and reports under Articles 9 and 12 of the Birds Directive.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Committee for the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade, (b) the EU Scientific Review Group for the protection of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade, (c) EU Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee and (d) working party on irregularities during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:  (a) The EU Committee for the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade
	The EC CITES Committee (The Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora) met during the Danish Presidency on 19 December 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 13 March 2003. Issues discussed at the Committee included applications for permits and licences for trade, and other matters relating to the use and trade of wild animals and plants.
	(b) The EU Scientific Review Group for protection of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade
	The Scientific Review Group (SRG) met during the Danish Presidency on 5 September 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 30 January 2003 and 22 May 2003. Issues discussed included reports on Ecological matters.
	(c) The EU Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee
	The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee met during the Danish Presidency on 18 July, 20 September, 7 October, 22 October, 8 November, 19 November and 17 December. During the Greek Presidency it met on 22 January, 20 February, 20 March, 22 April, 16 May, 21March and 18 June. Issues discussed included the payment of monthly advances from the Fund, decisions on the clearance of CAP accounts, the exclusion from Community financing of certain expenditure as a result of disallowance decisions, and other matters relating to the control of CAP expenditure.
	(d) The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund working party on irregularities
	The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund working party on irregularities did not meet during the Danish Presidency and met during the Greek Presidency on 11 March 2003. Issues discussed included the formation of a temporary task force to audit outstanding cases of financial irregularity and recovery, difficulties experienced, and presentations on technical items.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for products processed from fruit and vegetables and (b) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for hops during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for products processed from fruit and vegetables The Processed Fruit and Vegetables Management Committee met during the Danish Presidency on 16 July, 17 September, 15 October, 12 November and 10 December. During the Greek Presidency it met on 10 January, 11 and 19 February, 12 March, 8 and 29 April, 6 and 14 May, and 13, 23 and 24 June 2003. Issues discussed at the Committee included the setting of export refunds and aid for products grown for processing.
	(b) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for hops
	The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for hops did not meet during the Danish or Greek Presidencies.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Advisory Committee for the implementation of the directive on the reduction of the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, (b) the EU Committee on zootechnics and (c) the EU Committee for the Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress and Implementation of the Directive on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The EU Advisory Committee for the implementation of the directive on the reduction of the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels.
	The EU Advisory Committee on the Sulphur Content in Liquid Fuels Directive met once during the Danish Presidency on 10 December 2002. The only item on the agenda was a discussion on a derogation for Greece, allowing the use of heavy fuel oil with a sulphur content of 3 per cent. by mass in part of its territory from 1 January 2003. The Committee did not meet during the Greek Presidency.
	(b) The EU Committee on zootechnics
	The Standing Committee on Zootechnics met during the Danish Presidency on 5 November 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 8 April 2003. Issues discussed included proposed amendments to community rules on equidae, bovines and sheep.
	(c) The EU Committee for the Adaption to Technical and Scientific Progress and Implementation of the Directive on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms.
	The EU Committee on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms did not meet during either the Danish or the Greek Presidencies.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Management Committees of the common organisations of agricultural markets for dehydrated fodder, (b) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for oils and fats and (c) the EU Standing Committee on Agricultural Research during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for dehydrated fodder
	The EU Management Committee for dehydrated fodder did not meet during the Danish Presidency. It met during the Greek Presidency on 20 June 2003. The main purpose of this meeting was to set the final rate of aid for the previous marketing year.
	(b) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for oils and fats
	The EU Management Committee for oils and fats met during the Danish Presidency on 5 July, 11 and 24 September, 16 October, 20 November and 11 December 2002. It met during the Greek Presidency on 22 January, 12 February, 19 March, 9 April, 19 May and 11 June. Issues discussed included the market situation, export refunds, amendments to the provisions on marketing standards and the work programmes of operators' organisations.
	(c) The EU Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
	The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research did not meet during either the Danish or Greek Presidencies.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Joint Meetings of Management and/or Regulatory Committees in the field of agriculture-trade mechanisms, (b) the EU Management Committees of the common organisations of agricultural markets for fresh fruit and vegetables and (c) the EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress and implementation of the directive on waste during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The EU Joint Meetings of Management and/or Regulatory Committees in the field of agriculture-trade mechanisms
	Meetings of the DG Agri Trade Mechanisms Management Committee usually take place every month except August. The last meeting took place on 11 November 2003. The next meeting is scheduled for 9 December. Issues discussed at the Committee included accessionary arrangements for new member states of the European Union; and amendments to export refunds, licensing, supply arrangements and animal welfare regulations.
	(b) The EU Management Committees of the common organisations of agricultural markets for fresh fruit and vegetables
	The Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Management Committee met during the Danish presidency on 16 July, 17 September, 15 October, 12 November and 10 December. During the Greek presidency it met on 10 January, 11 and 19 February, 12 March, 8 and 29 April, 6 and 14 May, and 13, 23 and 24 June 2003. Issues discussed included the setting of export refunds and arrangements for assisting Producer Organisations.
	(c) The EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress and implementation of the directive on waste
	The EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress and implementation of the directive on waste met during the Danish presidency on 25 July 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 15 January and 7 May 2003. Issues discussed included the directives on Landfill, End-of-life Vehicles and Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Committee on the implementation of the Directive establishing a Community policy regarding water, (b) the EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for natural fibres and (c) the EU management committees of the common organisations of agricultural markets for cereals during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda for each meeting; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows: (a) The EU Committee on the implementation of the Directive establishing a Community policy regarding water
	The EU Committee on the implementation of the Directive establishing a Community policy regarding water did not meet during the Danish presidency. During the Greek presidency, it met on 6 May 2003. Issued discussed at the Committee included work priorities for 2003 and 2004, and implementation of Directive 2000/60/EC.
	(b) The EU Management Committee of the common organisations of agricultural markets for natural fibres
	The Management Committee for Natural Fibres met during the Danish presidency on 25 July, 1 August, 4 September and 13 and 29 November 2002, and during the Greek presidency on 18 March and 28 May 2003. Issues discussed included harvest and market reports for cotton, flax, hemp and silk; estimating cotton production to calculate provisional reductions of the guide price; revising cotton production estimates; fixing actual cotton production; apportioning a National Guaranteed Quantity of 5,000 tonnes of short fibre between five minor producing countries; and contributing to the design of a fibre industry questionnaire.
	(c) The EU Management committees of the common organisations of agricultural markets for cereals
	The Cereals Management Committee normally meets on a weekly basis. The dates of meetings during the Danish and Greek presidencies and the items on each agenda can be viewed at the following internet address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/minco/manco/cereals/index.htm_top
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the dates of meetings of (a) the EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of the Directive on bathing water, (b) the EU Management Committee for Fisheries Products and (c) the EU Management Committee for the fisheries and aquaculture sector during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of the Directive on bathing water
	The EU Committee for the adaptation to scientific and technical progress of the Directive on bathing water did not meet during either the Danish Presidency or the Greek Presidency.
	(b) The EU Management Committee for Fisheries Products The Management Committee for Fishery Products met during the Danish Presidency on 4 July, 4 October and 3 December 2002, and during the Greek Presidency on 27 January (Expert Group), 7 March, 17 March, 14 May (Expert Group) and 18 June 2003. The main items discussed were autonomous tariff quotas for 2003, transnational producer organisations and the European Union/Peru WTO sardine labelling dispute.
	(c) The EU Management Committee for the fisheries and aquaculture sector The Management Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture met during the Danish Presidency on 23 July, 2 October and 5 November 2002 and during the Greek Presidency on 27 February, 19 March, 10 April, 14 May and 26 June 2003. The main items discussed were data collection, future fleet policy and the Multi-Annual Guidance Programme (MAGPIV) results.
	The devolved administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when (a) the EU Committee on Geographical Indications and Protected Designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs, (b) the EU Committee on certificates of specific character for agricultural products and foodstuffs, (c) the EU Committee for the adaptation to technical progress of the directive on procedures for the surveillance and monitoring of environments concerned by waste from the titanium dioxide industry and (d) the EU Advisory Committee on Community policy regarding forestry and forest-based industries met during the Danish and Greek presidencies; what items were on each agenda; for each meeting, what representative of the Scottish Executive was present; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting, including the officials present; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The EU Committee on Geographical Indications and Protected Designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
	The EU Committee on Geographical Indications and Protected Designations of Origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs met during the Danish presidency on 22 July 2002 and during the Greek presidency on 5 February and 4 June 2003. Issued discussed at the Committee included olive oil production, the TRIPS agreement, and recent ECJ judgments.
	(b) The EU Committee on certificates of specific character for agricultural products and foodstuffs
	The Regulatory Committee for Certificates of Specific Character for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs met during the Danish presidency on 22 July 2002. The item on the agenda was a draft Commission Regulation amending the existing Commission Regulation 1848/93 on Certificates of Specific Character. The Committee did not meet during the Greek presidency. (c) The EU Committee for the adaptation to technical progress of the directive on procedures for the surveillance and monitoring of environments concerned by waste from the titanium dioxide industry
	The EU Committee for the adaptation to technical progress of the directive on procedures for the surveillance and monitoring of environments concerned by waste from the titanium dioxide industry did not meet during either the Danish or the Greek presidency.
	(d) The EU Advisory Committee on Community policy regarding forestry and forest-based industries
	The Advisory Committee on Forestry and Forest-Based Industries did not meet during the Danish presidency. During the Greek presidency it met on 25 February 2003. Issues discussed included implementation of the EU Forestry Strategy and Habitats Directive, the sustainable use of resources and the status of a proposal for a regulation concerning the monitoring of forests.
	The devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Executive, are kept fully informed of the work of all Committees and their views are fully reflected at Committee meetings.
	Regarding any preparatory meetings, Exemption 2 to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies.

Packaging

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) percentage and (b) volume of material was recycled by each EU country under the terms of the EU Packaging Directive in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: Member states are required to notify the Commission of their packaging data 18 months after the respective year ends. Member states are still in the process of notifying the Commission of their 2001 data. The most complete data set therefore refers to the year 2000, as detailed in the table.
	
		
			 Country Total in the waste stream (tonnes) 2000 Recycling (percentage of waste arising) 2000 Amount of packaging waste recycled (tonnes) 
		
		
			 Austria 1,170,000 69 807,300 
			 Belgium 1,496,290 63 942,663 
			 Denmark 852,258 56 477,265 
			 Finland 442,500 50 221,250 
			 France 12,499,000 42 5,249,580 
			 Germany 15,130,700 78 11,801,946 
			 Netherlands 2,903,000 59 1,712,770 
			 Spain 6,628,035 40 2,651,214 
			 Sweden 976,800 58 566,544 
			 Luxembourg 79,701 45 35,865 
			 Portugal 1,248,259 31 386,960 
			 UK 9,179,981 40 3,671,992 
			 Italy 11,168,200 38 4,243,916 
			 Ireland (16)— (16)— (16)— 
		
	
	(16) Still to notify the Commission.

Packaging

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the total volume of packaging used by the fast food industry in each of the last 10 years when serving their customers, broken down by (a) cardboard and paper, (b) plastics, (c) biodegradable materials and (d) other materials;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the potential for the use of biodegradable packaging within the fast food industry.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Fallen Stock

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the fallen stock scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has received correspondence and enquiries about the conditions for joining the Scheme and asking when it will start. Progress is being made with putting in place the conditions for launching the Scheme and details will be made available shortly.

Farming

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the costs of administration for farmers in real terms in each of the last four years.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no estimate made of the total costs of administration for farmers. We estimate the cost in terms of farmers' time spent in completing statistical survey forms that was as follows (at the current prices in each of the years):
	
		
			 Year £000 
		
		
			 1999 949 
			 2000 (17)1,432 
			 2001 (18)561 
			 2002 736 
		
	
	(17) Includes full June Agricultural and Horticultural Census as required by the European Union
	(18) Many surveys postponed or scaled down due to Foot and Mouth Disease

Fisheries

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what major fish stocks which are closed to UK vessels remain open to other countries' vessels; and what the quota levels of each are.

Ben Bradshaw: Two fisheries—Western blue whiting and North Sea herring—have so far been closed in 2003 to the UK fleet as a whole. These fisheries remain open to those other member states which still have uncaught quota for them. Details of their quotas and landings, as shown by the Commission's FIDES database at 11 November, are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Western blue whiting North sea herring 
			 Member state Current quota Landings Closure effective Current quota Landings Closure effective 
		
		
			 Germany 18,955 11,712 — 39,087 38,314 — 
			 Denmark 2,218 586 — 63,405 28,590 — 
			 Spain 104 44 — — — — 
			 France 11,944 9,354 — 19,154 16,933 — 
			 Ireland 17,165 14,069 — — — — 
			 Netherlands 31,263 31,659 4 June 2003 45,935 43,689 — 
			 Sweden 0 25 — 4,070 503 — 
			 UK 25,032 21,273 2 April 2003 58,438 57,510 9 September 2003 
			 EEC 107,281 94,722 — 224,458 185,536 —

Fisheries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has briefed United Kingdom MEPs on the European Parliament Fisheries Committee on her strategy to decouple cod from other whitefish species.

Ben Bradshaw: I attach great importance to finding and negotiating approaches which will promote the recovery of cod stocks whilst allowing fishermen the chance to exploit stocks which are abundant in themselves but caught in the same areas. To be negotiable, such approaches do need to be demonstrably workable. I will certainly ensure that MEPs are briefed on the UK's aims in this respect.

Fisheries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the European Commission's announcement on 11 November that it has opened formal infringement procedures against the United Kingdom in respect of alleged failure to enforce fisheries rules.

Ben Bradshaw: The European Commission has commenced formal proceedings against the United Kingdom under Article 226 of the EC Treaty and Article 26(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the common fisheries policy. The Commission considers that:
	(i) the United Kingdom has not provided its competent authorities with the sufficient means to perform their tasks of inspection and control, as laid down in Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy;
	(ii) the United Kingdom has not ensured in a sufficient and effective way the compliance with the Community rules in force concerning control measures, notably inspection and monitoring of all fishing activities within its territory and within the maritime waters subject to it sovereignty or jurisdiction;
	(iii) insufficient and ineffective control has been observed in particular with respect to those obligations related to the use of the VMS (vessel monitoring systems) by vessels operating in the UK waters, to the recording of the exact amount of catches in the logbook, to the submission of sales notes, to the submission and recording of landing declarations, to the submission of transport documents and to the establishment of a validation system comprising in particular cross-checks and verification of data in order to ensure respect of the obligations laid down in Articles 3,6,8,9,10, 13, 14 and 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93;
	(iv) the United Kingdom has not taken the appropriate measures against the natural or legal persons who do not comply with the rules in force of the common fisheries policy, including proceedings capable of effectively depriving those responsible of the economic benefit of the infringements or of producing results proportionate to the seriousness of such infringements, effectively discouraging further offences of the same kind, and is of the view that the United Kingdom has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 1 (2), Article 2 (1) in connection with the Article 3 (6), Article 6 (3), Article 8 (1), Article 13 (1—3), Article 14 (1 and 2) and Article 19 (1—3), and Article 31 (1 and 2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93.
	We have two months in which to respond and to demonstrate compliance with its obligations under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93. If the Commission is not satisfied with our response it may take preventative measures as provided for in Article 26(3) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 and issue a reasoned opinion under Article 226 of the EC Treaty. Beyond that the Commission may refer the issues to the European Court of Justice.
	Effective enforcement is integral to the success of the common fisheries policy and to efforts to conserve fish stocks. We are taking the Commission's criticisms very seriously and are currently consulting with the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland authorities. We expect to submit a positive response to the Commission early in the New Year.

Fisheries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations with the industry she has had on the issue of decoupling cod from other whitefish species.

Ben Bradshaw: I and departmental officials are engaged in ongoing discussions with fishermen, about decoupling and other issues associated with fish stock conservation, in the run-up to the key Council of Ministers meeting in December.

Food Regulation

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibilities her Department has in relation to parliamentary consideration of proposals for the regulation of food.

Ben Bradshaw: I will write to my hon. Friend with the information in due course.

Foot and Mouth

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many emergency purchase orders were issued by her Department and the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001.

Alun Michael: Information held centrally shows that, 12,600 emergency purchase orders were issued by the Department and the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001.

GM Oilseed Rape

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the future growing of GM oilseed rape safe for the production of biodiesel.

Elliot Morley: There are no such plans. No varieties of GM oil seed rape have authorisation for commercial growing in the UK.

Hazardous Waste

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance has been issued in the last five years on remediation of sites containing potentially hazardous waste.

Margaret Beckett: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Hazardous Waste

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans she has to discuss with the Deputy Prime Minister measures to prevent planning applications for landfill sites dealing with hazardous waste being blocked for technical reasons; [R]
	(2)  how many hazardous waste landfill sites are operational in the United Kingdom; and what their estimated capacity is in tonnes per year; [R]
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the amount of hazardous waste in tonnes per year which will need to be disposed of separately under the Landfill Directive in each of the next five years; [R]
	(4)  what action she is taking to increase the number of hazardous waste sites across the country. [R]

Elliot Morley: I will write to my hon. Friend with the information in due course.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on delays to the issuing of hazardous waste criteria.

Elliot Morley: The draft Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004, that implement the European Council Decision 2003/33 on waste acceptance criteria in England and Wales, are currently out for consultation. That consultation ends on 17 December 2003, and a response to the consultation will be placed on the Defra website as early as possible in the new year. We remain on target to meet the EU requirement to transpose this legislation by July 2004.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  when the hazardous waste regulations will be made available;
	(2)  what provisions will be in place by July 2004 to receive hazardous waste in (a) London and (b) each of the counties and Metropolitan areas in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what (a) staff and (b) resources have been allocated by her Department to the production of hazardous waste regulations.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with this information shortly.

Landfill Sites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 726W, on landfill sites, if she will place an updated list of the level of fine imposed for each landfill site in the Library.

Elliot Morley: An updated list of the level of fine imposed for each of the landfill sites, where the information is available, will be placed in the Library of the House.
	The specific reason for the action is not recorded by the Agency, but the legislation under which the prosecution action is taken is indicated alongside each report. The list of incidents may relate to breaches of authorisation rather than pollution Incidents. Some of the cases have not yet come to court.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Environment Agency has an independent working computer model of the hydrographic regime of the inshore waters of the North Wales coastal region for planning and management purposes.

Elliot Morley: Matters concerning the Environment Agency Wales are dealt with by the National Assembly for Wales.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the level of algal blooms in Liverpool Bay;
	(2)  what the locations are of algae blooms in United Kingdom waters, broken down by order of severity;
	(3)  if her Department will take steps to treat non-toxic algal blooms accumulated on the North Wales coast.

Elliot Morley: Algal blooms are a naturally occurring phenomenon. Given their intensity will vary at different times of the year eg spring compared to summer, between years, and their growth is dependent on a range factors, it is not possible to produce an accurate map identifying the location and severity of algae blooms in UK waters.
	Through implementation of the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment and Nitrates Directives we are taking action eg provision of more stringent treatment at relevant sewage treatment works, to protect the environment and water quality from undesirable disturbances caused, or likely to be caused, by the accelerated growth of algae in nutrient enriched waters. This complicated phenomenon is known as eutrophication.
	In England and Wales the Environment Agency undertake reviews of water bodies eg rivers, estuaries, coastal, every four years to assess whether the water body meets the criteria in the Directives for identification as a eutrophic water. The next review is to completed in 2005. At present we do not consider Liverpool Bay (which includes the waters along the North Wales coast) meets the criteria for identification as a eutrophic water.
	Considerable effort is currently being directed towards evaluating the ecological status of the north east Irish sea including Liverpool Bay and the north Wales Coast. Results from this work is expected to enable better assessments of the levels of algae in Liverpool Bay.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on co-operation between the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government on monitoring pollution in the Irish Sea.

Elliot Morley: I will write to my hon. Friend with this information shortly.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the programme of continuous plankton recording around the British Isles.

Elliot Morley: A Continuous Plankton Recorder is a device which is towed by a ship of opportunity and can take a larger number of samples of particulate matter such as larger planktonic species from the water through which it passes.
	The international marine environmental charity 'Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science' (SAHFOS), which is based in Plymouth, currently operates the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey. This survey has been in operation since 1931 and provides one of the longest and largest marine biological data sets in the world.
	More than 70 years of information on the density of over 450 plankton types is contained in the database. Plankton samples have been collected from all over the North Atlantic but predominantly (some 200,000 samples) from waters around the British Isles.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce the nitrate levels in (a) streams and (b) lakes.

Elliot Morley: The Government has taken, and is taking, a range of action to address nitrate pollution in streams and lakes.
	The EC's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive contains provisions designed to reduce the adverse impact of sewage discharges on the water environment. The Directive, and Government policy building on the Directive's requirements, establishes that all discharges from sewage treatment plants serving populations greater than 2,000 have secondary treatment by the end of 2005.
	Secondary treatment reduces the total nitrogen present in sewage. The amount of this reduction is dependant upon the type of secondary treatment process applied, but reduction of total nitrogen achieved through secondary treatment is of the order of 20 per cent. on average.
	The Directive also contains provisions that require further treatment of nitrates from sewage discharges to reduce the impact on freshwaters intended for abstraction for use as drinking water. These provisions require that where nitrate concentration levels in these waters exceed or could exceed 50 mg/l, if no protective action is taken, then nitrate reduction is to be achieved through further treatment processes.
	Between February 1997 and June 2002 eight water bodies in need of protection from excessive nitrates levels were identified as Sensitive Areas (Nitrate) in England. Relevant sewage works have been, or are being, built to provide the treatment needed to reduce nitrate levels in their discharges.
	Additionally the EU Nitrates Directive, an environmental measure designed to reduce current and prevent future water pollution by nitrate from agricultural sources, requires all known areas of land draining into nitrate-polluted waters to be designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. The Nitrates Directive requires the identification of polluted waters using the following criteria: (a) surface and groundwaters which contain or could contain, if preventative action is not taken, nitrate concentrations greater than 50 mg/l; (b) surface waters which are eutrophic or could become eutrophic if preventative action is not taken. Around 55 per cent. of England has been designated as NVZs on the basis that it drains into these waters, and action programme measures to reduce nitrate loss from agricultural land have been applied in these zones.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of illegal dumping of dredged material have been recorded off the North Wales coast in each of the last 30 years.

Elliot Morley: This Department has no record of any conviction under either the Dumping at Sea Act 1974 or subsequently the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 for illegal deposit of dredged material off the North Wales coast prior to such matters being devolved to the National Assembly for Wales during 1999.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS) on the marine environment in the Irish Sea over the past 30 years.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of any specific assessments of PCBs in the Irish Sea but there are two more general reports which cover the Irish Sea and provide the best available assessments of the effects of PCBs in that part of the marine environment. These reports, copies of which should be found in the Library of the House of Commons, are:
	1. Quality Status Report 2000: Region III—Celtic Seas
	OSPAR Commission, London 2000
	ISBN 0946956499
	2. National Monitoring Programme: Survey of the Quality of UK Coastal Waters
	Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group, Aberdeen 1998
	ISBN 0953283836

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the quantities of (a) synthetic chemicals, (b) mercury, (c) cadmium, (d) lead, (e) zinc, (f) nickel and (g) arsenic released into the Irish Sea from establishments in the United Kingdom in each of the past 30 years; and if she will make a statement on the proposed reduction targets in each case;
	(2)  what research her Department has evaluated regarding the effects of major inshore algal blooms on the distribution of pollutants in coastal areas, with particular reference to the (a) metal absorbing capabilities and (b) bubble scavenging properties of algae.

Elliot Morley: The information requested will take some time to collate and I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of monitoring pollution levels in the Irish Sea was in each of the past 30 years.

Elliot Morley: The information required will take some time to collate. Therefore I will reply to my hon. Friend in due course.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has evaluated on the potential health risks of foam and sludge deposits left by Phacosystic algae blooms on the shore line.

Elliot Morley: I am not aware of any evaluation of research on this topic by this Department.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total tonnage of sewage sludge dumped in Liverpool Bay was in each of the past 30 years.

Elliot Morley: Under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, the disposal of sewage sludge to surface waters, including coastal waters, has been banned since 31 December 1998. I understand that an estimated total of 40–50 million tonnes was deposited by water companies and predecessor water authorities in the north east Irish Sea/Liverpool Bay in the 30 years up to that date.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether information on marine pollution collected by (a) the Environment Agency, (b) her Department and (c) local authorities is entered on to a central database.

Elliot Morley: Relevant monitoring information generated by the UK on marine pollution is entered onto a central database. It is known as the National Marine Monitoring Programme (NMMP) database and is managed by the Environmental Data Unit of the Environment Agency, which is located at Twerton.

Marine Pollution

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory bodies which have monitored pollution levels in the Irish Sea in each of the past 15 years.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with the information in due course.

Marine Resources (EU Competence)

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assurances she has (a) sought and (b) received about the effect of the proposed exclusive competence of the EU over marine resources of the sea in the draft constitution; and what assessment she has made of the effect of EU exclusive competence on (i) UK six and 12 mile limits, (ii) relative stability of catches, (iii) national conservation measures and (iv) regulation of quota hoppers.

Ben Bradshaw: The draft EU constitution makes no changes to competence over fisheries (which is shared between the EU and member states) nor over the conservation of marine biological resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (which has been exclusively within the competence of the Community since 1979). Under these arrangements the UK six and 12 mile limits have been renewed, relative stability maintained, national conservation measures introduced and measures introduced so that coastal communities derive economic benefit from vessels fishing against UK quota.

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) her Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published.

Alun Michael: The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs came into being in June 2001, and the list of surveys since that date is:
	Corporate Identity research
	Illegal Meat Imports—general public tracking and omnibus
	GM Crops—desk research
	GM Debate—foundation discussion workshops
	GM Debate—stimulus content creation
	Defra Customer Vision
	Defra's sponsorship activities
	Communicating with Farmers—Customer reaction to Defra Communications
	Illegal Meat Imports—Business and holiday traveller focus
	Illegal Meat Imports—Research with Ethnic Minorities
	Records for agencies and non-departmental government bodies are not held centrally and information can be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Milk

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the average price of milk for each month for the last five years at (a) farm gate, (b) processor and (c) retailer stage.

Ben Bradshaw: The table gives figures for milk prices at farm gate and retailer levels from January 1998. Although we do not hold processor prices, the recent KPMG report into the pricing and profitability in the British dairy chain concluded that retail prices involved on average a 27.5 per cent. mark up on the processor price.
	
		
			  Farm gate(pence per pint without bonus) Retail(pence per pint) 
		
		
			 1998   
			 January 11.34 35 
			 February 11.23 34 
			 March 11.19 34 
			 April 9.98 34 
			 May 9.43 34 
			 June 10.03 34 
			 July 11.74 34 
			 August 11.81 34 
			 September 11.35 34 
			 October 11.44 34 
			 November 11.14 34 
			 December 10.92 34 
			 1999   
			 January 10.92 34 
			 February 10.77 34 
			 March 10.74 34 
			 April 9.96 35 
			 May 9.31 35 
			 June 9.77 35 
			 July 11.22 34 
			 August 11.25 34 
			 September 10.88 34 
			 October 10.27 34 
			 November 10.03 34 
			 December 9.85 34 
			 2000   
			 January 9.52 34 
			 February 9.43 34 
			 March 9.44 34 
			 April 8.67 34 
			 May 8.30 34 
			 June 8.72 34 
			 July 10.01 34 
			 August 10.18 34 
			 September 9.94 34 
			 October 10.68 35 
			 November 10.56 35 
			 December 10.37 35 
			 2001   
			 January 10.40 35 
			 February 10.33 36 
			 March 10.16 36 
			 April 10.35 36 
			 May 10.04 37 
			 June 10.50 37 
			 July 11.61 37 
			 August 11.72 37 
			 September 11.63 37 
			 October 11.48 37 
			 November 11.39 37 
			 December 11.13 37 
			 2002   
			 January 10.67 37 
			 February 10.40 36 
			 March 10.23 36 
			 April 9.08 36 
			 May 8.44 36 
			 June 8.70 36 
			 July 9.31 36 
			 August 9.50 36 
			 September 9.68 36 
			 October 10.30 37 
			 November 10.27 37 
			 December 10.08 37 
			 2003   
			 January 10.04 37 
			 February 10.02 36 
			 March 9.87 36 
			 April 9.56 36 
			 May 9.08 36 
			 June 9.38 36 
			 July 10.34 37 
			 August 10.76 37 
			 September 10.81 37 
		
	
	Source:
	Government Statistics: RPI: average price milk, pasteurised per pint.

Milk

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had in the last year with (a) farming representatives, (b) producers and (c) retailers on milk prices.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The Secretary of State has had no formal meetings with representatives of the dairy industry, either producers, processors or retailers to discuss milk prices. However, Ministers frequently meet with representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain and are therefore aware of the issues. Matters affecting the whole dairy supply chain are regularly discussed at the forum chaired by my noble Friend the Lord Whitty.

Mothers (Return to Work)

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) representations and (b) discussions he has had in the last 12 months on increasing opportunities for mothers to return to the workplace; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: I will write to my hon. Friend with this information shortly.

National Environment Campaigns

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the national environment campaigns promoted by the Government since 1997, providing at today's prices the (a) resource costs, (b) capital expenditure costs and (c) staffing costs.

Alun Michael: The information is as follows:
	
		Expenditure on national environmental campaigns promoted by the Government (DETR/Defra)(19) since 1997 -- Outturn £000
		
			 Programme/campaign 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 DETR/DEFRA support for ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns) core costs and programmes to promote individual action to achieve litter free sustainable environments 3,997 3,697 3,763 3,763 (20)4,125 3,959 (21)2,124 
			 Expenditure at 2003–04 prices 4,595 4,142 4,121 4,036 4,334 4,070 2,124 
			 
			 DETR/DEFRA funding for Energy Saving Trust's 'Energy Efficiency Campaign'(22) 3,313 3,532 3,726 4,208 (23)6,542 (24)5,742 (25)5,603  
			 Expenditure at 2003–04 prices 3,808 3,957 4,081 4,574 6,873 5,903 5,603 
			 
			 Carbon Trust (formed 2001–02)—total marketing expenditure — — — — — (26)1,700 Not yetavailable(27) 
			 Expenditure at 2003–04 prices — — — — — 1,748 — 
			 
			 DETR/Defra 'are you doing your bit?' campaign (began 1998–9) — 3,400 7,000 9,300 (28)500 0 — 
			 Expenditure at 2003–04 prices — 3,809 7,666 9,976 525 0 — 
		
	
	(19) Defra was formed in June 2001. Defra continued programmes begun by the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
	(20) This is a change to the answer given in July 2002 to PQ65625. The figure quoted in that answer was £2,952,000. This revised figure reflects the fact that, in year, Encams were awarded an extra £1 million spread over financial years 2001–02 and 2002–03 for the Local Environment Quality Pathfinder Programme.
	(21) This figure represents 7/12 of the 2003–04 allocation.
	(22) Figures for 1997–8 to 2000–1 inclusive, show advertising expenditure only and include a small element of Scottish Executive support. Figures for 2001 onwards are total funded programme costs.
	(23) 488-staff, 6,054-resource.
	(24) 487staff, 5,255-resource.
	(25) 522-staff, 5,081-resource.
	(26) The Carbon Trust was formed in 2001–02 but did not begin marketing activity until 2002–03. Of the 2002–03 total, £750,000 was spent on the 'Thank You' campaign.
	(27) Figures for the latest 'Lifeblood' campaign are not yet available.
	(28) Most of the 'are you doing your bit?' campaign's planned resource was allocated in 2001–2 to rural support during the foot and mouth disease outbreak.
	Notes:
	1. Where it has been possible, without involving disproportionate cost, costs have been broken down into resource, capital expenditure and staff. However, the majority of costs are aggregated.
	2. Expenditure at 2003–04 prices has been calculated using the underlying Retail Price Index (RPIX).

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on services provided to her Department by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1997.

Alun Michael: I will write to my hon. Friend with this information in due course.

Off-road Trail Biking

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the environmental impact of off-road trail biking on roads used as public paths.

Alun Michael: This Department is currently carrying out a comprehensive research project into the use of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, on byways open to all traffic. Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, roads used as public paths will shortly be reclassified as 'restricted byways' and vehicles will then no longer be able to use them unless it can be proved that the byway is a vehicular right of way.

Potatoes

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the last confirmed outbreak was of ring rot of potatoes in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	Until the case on 7 November 2003 there had been no previous outbreak of potato ring rot in the UK.

Potatoes

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the arrangements are for testing for ring rot in potatoes.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	Testing for ring rot in potatoes is carried out in accordance with the provisions laid down in EC Council Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 on the control of potato ring rot. This includes provision for member states to undertake official surveys of potatoes for the presence of the disease, with any samples taken being tested in accordance with internationally agreed protocols.

Potatoes

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contingency plans her Department has made for an outbreak of ring rot in potatoes.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	The Department's contingency plan for dealing with outbreaks of ring rot in potatoes is available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ring.htm

Potatoes

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements are in place for compensating producers of potatoes infected with ring rot who have complied fully with health regulations.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	Defra does not pay compensation to producers of potatoes infected with ring rot.

Potatoes

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the robustness of the testing methodology for ring rot in imported potatoes.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 18 November 2003
	The testing methodology for ring rot in imported potatoes is laid down in EC Council Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 on the control of potato ring rot. These tests reflect internationally agreed protocols based on best scientific advice.

Potatoes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the contingency arrangements for dealing with potato ring rot.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's contingency plans for dealing with potato ring rot have been published on the Defra web-site at www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ring.pdf

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) visual inspection and (b) other means in ensuring that consignments of potatoes are free from infection of bacterial ring rot; and what methods are available to determine the presence of bacterial ring rot in consignments of potatoes.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) All Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors are fully trained in the visual identification of potato ring rot and there is no evidence to suggest that this training is not effective although ring rot is known to exist sometimes in a latent, symptomless form, which is why visual inspections are supplemented by laboratory testing.
	(b) An annual survey for ring rot is carried out by the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate which involves taking samples of seed and ware potatoes from a representative sample of growers. The survey is a requirement of EC Council Directive 93/85/EEC of 4 October 1993 which also lays down details of the required testing methodology. In addition, all imported seed potatoes entering the seed potato classification scheme are tested for the presence of potato ring rot.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risk of cross contamination to other seed potatoes following the recent outbreak of ring rot.

Ben Bradshaw: EC Directive 93/85/EEC on the control of potato ring rot lays down a series of measures to be taken at outbreak sites which take account of the possible risks of cross contamination. Testing is still under way at the farm in Wales where the outbreak was discovered and it will be some time before we know whether the infection was restricted to the one stock. As a precautionary measure no other stocks of potatoes from the farm will be planted, whatever the results of the tests. Three premises in England to which stocks had already been sent from the outbreak farm have been put under statutory notice. We understand that the consignments sent to the Canary Islands have also been impounded. Any links which indicate a risk at other farms will result in similar restrictions at those premises.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional seed inspection procedures have been put in place following the recent outbreak of ring rot at (a) domestic sites and (b) points of import.

Ben Bradshaw: The priority now is to determine the extent of the current outbreak and to trace and test other deliveries from the same and any related stocks. In the light of that information we will then review levels of inspection and monitoring of domestic and imported potatoes. This outbreak was detected as a result of our annual survey for the presence of potato ring rot under which 932 tests and 1,151 visual inspections are carried out last year.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures were taken to quarantine (a) the farm of Mr. John Morgan and (b) the four other farms to which he has sent seed potatoes possibly infected with ring rot.

Ben Bradshaw: As soon as the diagnosis of ring rot was made on a sample from the farm in mid Wales a statutory notice was served under the Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 (as amended) to prevent movement of potatoes from that farm. The same measures were taken, on a precautionary basis, at each of the three farms in England to which seed had already been delivered. In relation to the delivery to the Canary Islands we notified the Spanish authorities and we understand the consignment has been impounded.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research the Department has commissioned on the development of a bactericide for the elimination of ring rot in the past five years; and what the cost was.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no bactericides approved for use on any plant bacterial disease in the UK. Unlike fungicides bactericides are not generally effective against disease on growing plants. There are standard commercial disinfectants available for hygiene measures in stores and on containers and harvesting/grading machinery. The efficacy of these was recently investigated at the Central Science Laboratory as part of a Defra funded research contract on the development of an on-farm strategy for eradication of ring rot which cost £40,000 per year (2002–03).

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual value of the potato crop produced in the UK was in the last year for which figures are available, at farmgate prices.

Ben Bradshaw: I will write to the hon. Member with the information in due course.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average annual tonnage of seed potatoes (a) exported from the UK to and (b) imported into the UK from all sources was in the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: I will write to the hon. Member with the information in due course.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government has made of the prevalence of ring rot in Europe and North America.

Ben Bradshaw: EC Council Directive 93/85/EEC on the control of potato ring rot requires member states to carry out regular surveys and report the results to the Plant Health Standing Committee. Equivalent information is now being required from accession countries. All member states, except Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Portugal have reported outbreaks of ring rot. Prior to the adoption of the control Directive in 1995 there was a wide variation between member states in their policy on the disease and the level of official action against it. Ring rot is regarded as an established disease in the USA and in large parts of Canada, although there are certain seed growing regions such as Prince Edward Island where statutory measures are taken to exclude ring rot and eradicate it when it occurs.

Potatoes

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice the Government have sought from (a) European and (b) North American governments on the handling of ring rot.

Ben Bradshaw: UK scientists at CSL are closely involved in the group of plant bacteriologists from around the EU who provided technical advice on diagnostic tests and risk management measures during the development of the control Directive on Ring Rot. They also play a major role in the scientific panels of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation. In 2002 experts from Canada and the USA met with EU experts to discuss ring rot controls. Defra's Central Science Laboratory is in regular contact with the experts from the eradication programme on Prince Edward Island.

Poultry Meat

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume in tonnes of poultry meat was imported into the UK in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and from which countries it was imported.

Ben Bradshaw: The table attached shows UK imports of poultry meat between 1993 and 2002.
	
		UK imports of poultry meat 1993–2002
		
			 Country 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Netherlands 42,327 41,539 44,462 63,181 74,338 91,629 110,165 133,027 126,652 144,006 
			 FranceIrish Republic 63,7838,623 88,98614,069 118,42317,932 98,76222,468 93,08020,944 94,72819,715 82,71521,078 64,84216,217 50,71014,933 53,82013,817 
			 Germany 6,097 15,003 11,666 11,289 8,567 12,162 14,889 17,255 22,968 23,847 
			 Denmark 16,604 11,357 8,405 12,801 15,125 14,346 13,435 15,331 13,125 16,670 
			 Belgium-Lux 9,686 13,087 14,763 12,966 11,710 9,541 15,006 13,528 10,935 16,267 
			 Brazil   543 7,552 10,239 8,388 11,267 19,955 19,957 15,530 
			 Italy 4,381 6,175 6,683 7,293 6,047 7,278 9,937 5,930 6,033 10,770 
			 Spain 1,903 3,386 4,387 6,749 4,336 5,549 7,750 7,263 7,799 7,809 
			 Thailand   135 4,769 3,784 7,216 10,560 7,201 8,214 7,149 
			 Hungary 541 202 267 283 172 45 1 188 1,070 2,418 
			 Chile 113 341 184 314 2,070 1,044 
			 Poland  95 456 132 55 963 
			 Austria   29 398 504 148  0  74 
			 Argentina  83 16 13 169 513 
			 Other 97 259 736 627 424 180 72 119 261 840 
			 Total 154,043 194,063 228,430 249,136 249,382 271,444 297,530 298,315 284,949 315,540

Sea Salinity Levels

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of (a) the effect on the Gulf Stream Conveyer Belt of a fall in water salinity in the northern Arctic Ocean and (b) the likelihood of such conditions arising;
	(2)  what research her Department is conducting on the salinity of waters in the Gulf Stream Conveyor Belt.

Elliot Morley: I will write to my hon. Friend with this information shortly.

Secondments

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people from science and technology backgrounds have been seconded into the Civil Service in her Department in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Alun Michael: Since the creation of Defra in June 2001, the Department has seconded personnel from both the public and private sectors as follows:
	15 in the period June 2001 to March 2002
	19 in the period April 2002 to March 2003
	21 in the period April 2003 to date.
	The majority have been seconded from organisations from science and technology sectors. In addition, the Department has provided for opportunity and experience postings from its Laboratory Agencies and the Research Councils, of varying durations, to work on science and technology matters, such as the development of science policy and strategies. Data is not held centrally. Finally, the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Howard Dalton, FRS, was appointed on secondment from Warwick university in 2001 and is working on a range of continuing professional development issues, including secondments into and out of the Department.
	Defra is committed to playing its part in developing a modern, flexible, outward focused Civil Service that works in partnership with all sectors of society. Interchange is seen as a key tool in meeting this commitment. Defra continues to promote and encourage the interchange of personnel between the Department and a range of organisations to help fulfil its business objectives.

Sellafield

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the annual emissions were of radioactive liquid discharges from Sellafield of (a) tritium, (b) carbon 14, (c) zinc-65, (d) strontium 89, (e) strontium 90, (f) technetium 99, (g) iodine 129, (h) europium 152, (i) europium 154, (j) total Beta and (k) uranium in each of the past 30 years.

Elliot Morley: I will write to my hon. friend with this information shortly.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what condition each site of special scientific interest (SSSI) was in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area; and what the total land area of SSSIs was in each category (a) in England and (b) broken down by local authority area.

Ben Bradshaw: There are 4,112 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England, covering over one million hectares. English Nature has been assessing the condition of SSSIs against rigorous and consistent standards, since 1997. It takes six years to complete fully the assessment programme across the whole of England, and although individual sites may be assessed more than once over this period, it is impossible to assess each site each year. The first full assessment programme was completed in March 2003, and showed that 598,000 hectares of SSSI land (56.9 per cent. of the total) was either in favourable condition or clearly on course to achieve it, on the basis of the latest information available at that time. English Nature will publish a report giving the full results of this programme next month. Full details of all the individual SSSIs, and their condition, will be available on English Nature's website early in the new year.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new areas of sites of special scientific interest she plans to designate in the next (a) two and (b) five years; where they are; whether each is (i) a new site and (ii) an extension of an existing site; what the size is of each new site and extension; and what the characteristics of each site are.

Ben Bradshaw: Sites of Special Scientific Interest are notified not by the Secretary of State but by English Nature. This is done on a site by site basis and there is no forward programme of notifications over 2 or 5 years.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which sites of special scientific interest are under threat from (a) damage to their ecological status, (b) a reduction in size and (c) disappearance over the next (i) two and (ii) five years, what the source of the threat is in each case; what percentage of SSSIs are under threat; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on potential threats to Sites of Special Scientific Interest is not recorded. However, the actual causes of adverse condition are recorded by English Nature. This information will be presented in the report on SSSI condition which will be published in December, and will be made available for individual SSSIs on the English Nature website early in 2004.

Synthetic Oestrogen

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to (a) reduce levels of synthetic oestrogen in river water and (b) prevent the metamorphosis of male fish arising from high levels of synthetic oestrogen.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency published research findings in 2002 on the effects of oestrogens on aquatic life. A summary of the research findings is available in the Library of the House. My officials are currently discussing, with the water industry, the Office of Water Services (Ofwat) and the Environment Agency, a proposal for a collaborative demonstration programme aimed at assessing the cost-effectiveness of sewage treatment processes for the removal of synthetic oestrogens from sewage.

US Warships (Disposal)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the possible risk to wildlife in the special protection areas of Teesmouth and the Cleveland coast as a consequence of plans by Able UK to scrap United States vessels at Hartlepool.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

US Warships (Disposal)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibilities lie with (a) the Environment Agency, (b) the Port Authority, (c) the US Administration and (d) Able UK in the event of environmental damage caused by the ships from the US Naval Reserve while they are in storage at Hartlepool.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 17 November 2003
	I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Warm Front

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households are eligible for (a) Warm Front and (b) Warm Front Plus grants; and how many additional households qualify for assistance through the scheme as a result of working tax credit becoming a qualifying benefit.

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of (a) the impact of the Warm Front initiative and (b) the quality of the service it provides.

Ben Bradshaw: In the past year, the NAO completed a report "Warm Front: Helping to Combat Fuel Poverty" looking at issues including the targeting, eligibility, measures and delivery of the scheme. An internal review looking at similar issues has also been completed by my Department.
	The Department is also funding research looking at the health impacts of Warm Front. The Department will be considering the findings of these studies in the coming months as part of the development of Warm Front.
	An independent quality assurance company carries out regular audits of the performance of the Warm Front scheme managers for the Department. This covers marketing, contact centre activity, surveyor activity, management of installers, checks on the quality of installed work, timelines for delivery of measures, scheme managers internal systems.

Warm Front

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much was spent through the Warm Front schemes in each constituency in the last financial year;
	(2)  how many properties in each constituency have benefited from the (a) Warm Front and (b) Warm Front Plus schemes in the last five years;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the number of households in each constituency who could benefit from the Warm Front scheme and who have yet to claim.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested will take some time to collate and I will write to my hon. Friend in due course.

Waste Management

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether proposals by Essex County Council for waste disposal comply with Government guidance and directives in respect of the recycling of waste; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: We have not made any assessment of whether Essex County Council's proposals for waste disposal comply with Government guidance and directives in respect of the recycling of waste. That assessment is for Essex County Council to carry out as part of their waste strategy.
	Essex County Council's recycling rate for 2001–02 was 21 per cent. Their Statutory Performance Standard for recycling and composting of household waste is set at 22 per cent. for 2003–04 and 33 per cent. for 2005–06.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation she will undertake with local authorities in advance of the implementation of European Union directives on waste management.

Elliot Morley: The Government is committed to consulting relevant stakeholders on the implementation of European Union directives. This includes the Local Government Association and individual local authorities where appropriate.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by the delivery team set up by her Department in May on the implementation of the sustainable waste delivery programme.

Elliot Morley: The Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) was established in May 2003 on the recommendation of the Strategy Unit Report 'Waste Not, Want Not', with funding committed until financial year 2005–06.
	The Programme Director has been in post since June 2003. An external Steering Committee has been set-up, and its first two quarterly meetings have now taken place. Its five sub-programmes (Local Authority Support; Local Authority Funding; New Technologies; Data; Research) are now in place and have each produced impact trajectories and detailed delivery plans.
	The programme has already distributed £140 million to Local Authorities for the delivery of 258 projects, and seven PFI schemes have been approved.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to increase her Department's (a) detection and (b) prosecution of illegal waste activities.

Elliot Morley: A range of measures have been included in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill that will lead to more effective investigations and more successful prosecutions for illegal waste activities or fly-tipping offences.
	The Bill also requires local authorities and the Environment Agency to submit data to the Secretary of State to help compile a national picture of the scale and extent of fly tipping.
	The Government is also developing a comprehensive strategy for dealing with fly tipping which will be consulted on shortly.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the money collected in fines by her Department for waste-related offences has been retained by her Department.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with this information shortly.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are being implemented to include schoolchildren in community recycling schemes.

Elliot Morley: Government is not implementing any specific measures to include school children in community recycling schemes.
	Awareness of waste issues is covered in the school curriculum at various key stages. Government also provides Waste Watch with a grant of £232,000. £60,000 of this grant is used to fund waste awareness work in schools.
	In addition, many local authorities support their recycling schemes with awareness campaigns. We do not have an assessment of the degree to which they involve school children.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the landfill tax to reach the rate of £35 per tonne.

Elliot Morley: I expect the landfill tax rate for active waste to reach £35 per tonne in the medium to long term, as announced by the Chancellor in his last Budget statement.
	The rate was increased from £13 to £14 per tonne on 1 April 2003 and will be increased to £15 per tonne from 1 April 2004. The Chancellor announced that it will subsequently be increased by £3 in 2005–06 to £18 per tonne, and by at least £3 per tonne in the years thereafter, until it reaches £35 per tonne.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the regulatory guidance notes on end of life vehicle permitting will be issued to vehicle salvage and dismantling companies.

Elliot Morley: The guidance on Part VII and Schedule 5 of the End of Life Vehicle Regulations 2003 will be issued to vehicle salvage and dismantling companies on Friday 21 November.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made towards the target of 85 per cent. re-use and recovery by weight of end of life vehicles.

Elliot Morley: A recent study carried out for the Department by TRL Ltd., estimated that in 2000 approximately 77 per cent. of the weight of ELVs scrapped was already being reused, recovered and recycled. Legislation was introduced on the 3 November which means that End of Life Vehicles must be depolluted in line with the Directive requirements. We expect that additional components and materials will be recovered and recycled as a result of the depollution activities.

Waste Management

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the availability of funding for the development of new technologies for waste management schemes.

Elliot Morley: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Water Budget Payment Units

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in each region of England have water budget payment units.

Elliot Morley: The Water Industry Act 1999 ended the use of water budget payment units that cut off or restrict supplies to homes and other vital premises for non-payment of bills. Some companies allow customers to keep units with the disconnection element removed, but the Office of Water Services no longer collects the numbers installed.

Watercourse Maintenance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance the Government issue to drainage boards in relation to the removal of silt following the European Waste Framework Directive and the Nitrate Directive on watercourse maintenance after 2006.

Elliot Morley: Neither the Waste Framework Directive nor the Nitrates Directive apply to the removal of silt from watercourses. However, Waste Management Licensing Regulations (1994) control the application of dredged material to land and the Government have made use of their discretion under Article 11 of the Waste Framework Directive to provide licensing exemptions for dredgings from inland waters. Where dredgings are to be spread on agricultural land, and the land falls within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, the requirements of the NVZ Action Programme Regulations must also be observed.

Website

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the content and design of her Department's website.

Alun Michael: I will write to the hon. Member with this information in due course.

Winemaking Industry

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the English winemaking industry.

Ben Bradshaw: There are currently 333 active vineyards in England and Wales, 317 of which are based in England, and 114 wineries. Three quarters of the total area under vine is based in the south of England, where the climate is more suitable for growing grapes. A further 15 per cent. is in the East Anglian region and the rest is spread across other English regions and Wales.
	English wine production is variable depending on the climate. Over the period 1999–2001, the average production in the UK was 14,434 hectolitres. Total wine production for the UK in 2002 was 9,384 hectolitres which was lower than average. Wine production in England alone for 2002 was 9,334 hectolitres. This year's harvest is expected to be considerably higher than the previous year and of good quality. The domestic industry currently meets around 0.2 per cent. of what is a large, and sophisticated UK market. In recent years, the English wine industry has been remarkably innovative, having made particular progress with the development and production of sparkling wines, some of which have been internationally recognised.

DEFENCE

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether steps have been taken to require that troops of the occupying power in Iraq do not have sexual intercourse with Iraqi women; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 15 September 2003, Official Report, columns 587–88W, on Iraq, if he will list those countries that now have military personnel working with UK and US forces in Iraq, broken down by (a) number and (b) type; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The following coalition forces operate within the UK-led Multi-National Division (South East):
	
		
			 Country Units Number 
		
		
			 Italy 1 Infantry1 Engineer Regiment1 Support Battalion1 Support and Logistics Battalion1 Carabinieri RegimentAir Force DetachmentNational Command CentreAdministration Detachment c. 2,800 
			 Czech Republic 1 Field HospitalMilitary Police Company c. 100 
			 Denmark 1 Infantry Battalion c. 480 
			 Netherlands Marine BattalionMilitary Police PlatoonField Dressing StationEngineer Construction CompanyAir Force DetachmentNational Support ElementDivisional Staff c. 1,100 
			 New Zealand 1 Engineer Company c. 60 
			 Norway 1 Engineer Squadron c. 160 
			 Portugal 1 Military Police Company c. 130 
			 Romania 1 Infantry Battalion1 Military Police CompanyNational Support Element c. 750 
			 Lithuania Infantry Platoon c. 30 
			 Total  c. 4,500 
		
	
	The other Multi-National Division (Central South) is led by the Poles and numbers approximately 9,000. It is composed of the following forces: Poland (c. 2,500), Ukraine (c. 1,600), Spain (c. 1,200), Bulgaria (c. 480), Slovenia (c. 360), Nicaragua (c. 110), Honduras (c. 370), Dominican Republic (c. 300), Mongolia (c. 180), Romania (c. 200), Lithuania (c. 50), Latvia (c. 100), Kazakhstan (c. 30), Slovakia (c. 80), Thailand (c. 900), Hungary (c.300) and the Philippians (c. 100).
	There are no multi-national forces operating in the US Area of Operations north and west of Baghdad.
	The numbers are approximate as roulement and leave cause modest daily fluctuations.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests UK authorities have received from Iraqi (a) officials and (b) civilians for assistance for Iraqi security forces to stop illegal oil smuggling along the Shatt-al-Arab waterway; what assistance has been provided; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal attacks there have been on UK army personnel serving in Iraq since the conclusion of military conflict; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Many of the following figures have been compiled under operational conditions and may therefore be subject to future refinement and revision.
	Decisive combat operations in Iraq ceased on 1 May 2003. Figures for the number of attacks on United Kingdom forces were not collected before 1 June 2003. Between 1 June and 17 October 2003, we assess that there were 101 deliberate attacks on coalition forces in the UK-led area of operations. Five resulted in the deaths of British personnel.

Iraq

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the findings of the inquiry into the deaths on 24 June 2003 of members of the Royal Military Police in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 September 2003, Official Report, column 748W, to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd).

Iraq

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the lessons the Department has drawn from the recent Iraq conflict regarding (a) logistics, (b) equipment and (c) food provision for armed forces personnel.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in a comprehensive exercise to capture and analyse lessons from the operations in Iraq. This includes a full assessment of our logistics (including food provision) and equipment performance. I anticipate the publication of a final report on the major findings of this process by the end of this year.
	Some early indicators were identified in our "First Reflections" report published in July. For example, while overall logistics performance was a major contribution to success, a major lesson is the requirement for a robust tracking system to enable equipment and stocks to be tracked throughout the supply chain. The Department found that the performance of equipment across all three Services matched and often exceeded expectations. Although food provision was not mentioned in detail in this report, the operation confirmed the validity of our current methodology.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Iraqis have been (a) killed and (b) injured in violent incidents involving other Iraqis since first of May in the provinces of (i) Basra City and (ii) Maysan; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 November 2003
	We are unable to confirm the number of incidents in which Iraqis kill or injure other Iraqis in Basra and Maysan. Violent crimes committed by Iraqis against their fellow Iraqis are a matter for investigation by the Iraqi Police. Coalition Forces continue to support the Iraqi Police during their operations and through the provision of training and equipment.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much (a) weaponry and (b) explosives have been seized by British forces in Iraq since 1 May, broken down by type.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which instruments of (a) international humanitarian law and (b) human rights law have been recognised by the Government as governing the use of force by United Kingdom military personnel in Iraq since the end of the conflict.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the (a) civilian and (b) industrial infrastructure reconstruction programmes undertaken by his Department in Iraq, including the (i) initiation date, (ii) projected completion date and (iii) units involved; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK civilians are working for defence contractors in Iraq; for whom they are working; in which areas of Iraq they are working; what risk assessments were carried out prior to them beginning work; what protection they are receiving; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: We do not hold details of the numbers of United Kingdom contractors currently working in Iraq. Contractors are employed by a number of Government Departments and organisations on projects throughout Iraq. UK forces in Multi-National Division South East (MND(SE)) area of operations constantly review security arrangements for British Citizens in the area for which they are responsible, including contractors. However, it is the contractors' responsibility to assess the risks to their employees prior to deploying them to Iraq. They are provided with security information, as well as regular liaison with local commanders once in Iraq, to enable them to do so.
	The measures in place to protect contractors in Iraq vary according to the threat in the location in which they are working in Iraq, and the nature of the work they are carrying out. For reasons of operational security it would be inappropriate to provide details of the precise measures in place to protect British Citizens in each location, and I am withholding that information under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of Part II of the Code of Conduct.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on planned future force numbers in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 November 2003
	We intend to retain sufficient forces in Iraq to achieve our aims. Force levels are kept under review as the requirements of the mission evolve.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle for British forces in Iraq is.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 November 2003
	The United Kingdom currently leads the Multi-National Division (South East). UK units within the Division are: 20 Armoured Brigade Headquarters; The Queens Royal Hussars; 1st Battalion The Light Infantry; 1st Battalion Royal Green Jackets; The Royal Regiment of Wales; 26 Regiment Royal Artillery; 35 Engineer Regiment; 9/12 Lancers; 4 Composite Logistics Support Regiment; and 2 Field Hospital. In addition, there are a number of non-formed units and smaller elements, making up a total complement of around 10,200. These include the Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq), which has 23 support helicopters assigned. In addition, 2 C-130J and 1 HS-125 are based at Basrah.

Iraq

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by date of meeting the companies with which he has discussed the release of employees for reserve service in connection with Operation Telic in the last 12 months.

Ivor Caplin: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence regularly meets with companies to discuss a range of defence issues. No meetings have been scheduled specifically to discuss the release of reservists to support Operation Telic.

Iraq

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces have been (a) killed and (b) injured in Iraq since the end of the conflict.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will arrange for the texts of arrangements agreed by Coalition Governments in relation to custody of persons captured in the course of the war in Iraq to be placed in the Library.

Adam Ingram: In March 2003, the United Kingdom, US and Australian Governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of Iraqi prisoners. Copies of this memorandum were placed in the Libraries of the House on Friday 14 November. The scope of the memorandum is not confined to major combat operations in Iraq, but also covers those detained subsequently by UK forces.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the performance of the United Kingdom armed forces logistical support vehicles in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No special research has been commissioned or evaluated on the performance of combat support vehicles in Iraq.
	The study to identify lessons from operations in Iraq includes an assessment of the effectiveness of logistic support provided to our armed forces across the Gulf region. The initial findings of this study were published in early July in the MOD report, "Operations in Iraq 2003: First Reflections", and we plan to publish a fuller report before Christmas. Generally, the combat support vehicles deployed in support of operations in Iraq have achieved acceptable levels of availability.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the numbers of UK servicemen returned to the UK with diagnosed conditions of illness since the beginning of military action in Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British aircraft were lost during the recent conflict in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: One Tornado GR4 aircraft and two Sea King helicopters were lost during the coalition's military action in Iraq.

Iraq

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the war in Iraq has cost.

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the additional costs incurred by his Department in connection with the conduct of operations in Iraq in (a) the financial year 2002–03 and (b) the present financial year to date; and what procedure is being followed to recover these from the earmarked reserve established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Geoff Hoon: The net additional cost of operations in Iraq for 2002–03 is set out in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2002–03, which is available in the Library of the House.
	Operating costs for 2002–03 are £629.531 million and expenditure on capital equipment amounts to £217.680 million. These give a total spend of £847.211 million.
	Additional funding will be sought in the normal way through Supplementary Estimates. The costs likely to arise in 2003–04 will be included in the Winter Supplementary Estimate which is due to be published on 27 November.

Iraq

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to improve the sharing of information between national contingents at Headquarters, Combined Joint Task Force, in Baghdad.

Adam Ingram: Since the start of operations in Iraq we have worked closely with our partner nations to facilitate effective sharing of information including through the use of liaison officers within the Commander Joint Task Force Headquarters in Baghdad. The process undergoes continuous refinement in the light of experience.

Iraq

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance was given to US military forces experimenting with weapon systems in the war in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: The Ministry of Defence maintains many collaborative research partnerships with the United States, though none is specific to Operation Telic.

Iraq

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the agreements made by him to assist the US military forces in using experimental weapon systems in the war in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: The Ministry of Defence neither has, nor has had, any agreements in place to assist any US forces in using experimental weapons systems during Operation Telic.

Iraq

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list military operations in Iraq involving (a) British forces and (b) United States forces with Britain's agreement in each month between January 2002 and 19 March 2003; in each case, how many (i) bombs were dropped and (ii) targets there were; what the strategic significance of each target was; and what the operational success rate was.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Maritime Wrecks

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many maritime wrecks there are in the Bristol Channel; and where they are.

Ivor Caplin: Within the limits of Admiralty Chart 1179 (Bristol Channel), produced by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 272 wrecks or obstructions are shown on charts where scale allows.
	I am placing the information requested on the position of these objects in the Library of the House.

Public Highways

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances members of HM forces may direct traffic on public highways; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Members of HM forces have no authority to direct traffic on public highways. However, they may supervise and control military traffic on public highways to ensure that it does not impede civilian traffic and that it complies with the appropriate traffic regulations.

Accountancy Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost to his Department was for accountancy services in 2002–03.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Acknowledgement Letters

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many acknowledgement letters and cards were dispatched by his Department in each year since 1997 for which figures are available; and what the estimated average cost was per letter and card.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 8 May 2003
	Details of the cost and number of acknowledgement letters and cards dispatched by the Ministry of Defence is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However the Department routinely sends a letter of acknowledgement for each piece of ministerial correspondence it receives. During the period 1 January 2003 to 31 October 2003, the MOD received 4,879 pieces of ministerial correspondence. The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the volume of Members' correspondence received by Departments. The report for 2002 was published on 15 May 2003, Official Report, columns 18–21W. Copies of previous reports are available in the Library of the House.

Advanced Jet Trainer

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the minute of 29 July concerning the advanced jet trainer project; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Al Majar Al Kabir

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on the deaths of military policemen at Al Majar Al Kabir in June; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: We have received a number of representations from Members of Parliament and relatives of the military policemen about the deaths of the six Royal Military Policemen at Al Majar Al Kabir. We keep the nominated next of kin of the deceased informed of progress in the continuing investigations into the deaths.

Armaments

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the armaments that can be used against (a) mechanised columns, (b) ammunition storage sites and (c) surface to air missile sites.

Adam Ingram: The armed forces are equipped with a wide range of armaments that could be used against such targets.
	The actual armament used will depend upon the specific nature and location of the target.

Armed Forces (Harmony Guidelines)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which (a) Infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Armoured Corps, (d) Royal Engineers and (e) Royal Signals units have not met their harmony guidelines in the past two years;
	(2)  which (a) Royal Navy vessels and (b) RAF squadrons have not met their harmony guidelines in the past two years.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Armoured Land Rovers

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured Land Rovers are deployed with UK forces in Iraq; and whether this will be affected by the Ministry of Defence's decision to sell some of its stock of armoured Land Rovers.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army (Tour Intervals)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) Infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Armoured Corps, (d) Royal Engineers and (e) Royal Signals units have had less than 12 months between tour intervals in the past five years.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army (Tour Intervals)

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the present average tour interval is for infantry regiments in the Army.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 10 November 2003
	The Army's Harmony guidelines recommend a tour interval of 24 months between each six month operational tour for Army battalions, which equates to one tour in each 30 month period. Between first May 2001 and 31 October 2003 infantry battalions undertook an average of about 1.3 tours. This is primarily the result of the Army's commitments on Operation Telic in Iraq and we therefore expect the situation to improve as commitments reduce.

Australian Defence Programmes

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions there have been between the UK Government and the Australian Government on future strategic tanker and offensive air system programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Ministry of Defence officials have discussed future offensive air systems with the Australian Government on a number of occasions. The United Kingdom and Australian Government are co-operating on work to demonstrate new technologies that will allow cruise missiles to be safely launched from large transport aircraft. This work is part of the UK's Future Offensive Air System project, and is being carried out by MBDA UK Ltd.
	Officials have also provided occasional briefings to Australia about our requirement and planned PFI procurement strategy for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA). FSTA was also discussed briefly during a meeting that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence held with Senator Robert Hill, Australian Defence Minister, on 12 November 2003.

C-130J Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of RAF C-130J aircraft had been planned to be out of service in 2003 owing to maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The planned number of C-130J aircraft on routine, scheduled maintenance at any one time is normally one aircraft, equating to 4 per cent. of the 25 aircraft fleet. However, due to the heavy use of the fleet on Operation TELIC, this has been increased to a planned average of 1.5 aircraft; this equates to 6 per cent.

C-130J Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what percentage of RAF C-130J aircraft (a) are and (b) have been judged to be below mission readiness owing to chronic engine problems in each month in 2003;
	(2)  how many RAF C-130 J aircraft (a) are out of service and (b) have been out of service in each month of 2003 owing to (i) routine maintenance and (ii) engine problems; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: "Chronic engine problems" has been taken to refer to significant faults such as turbine failures and generator problems that have caused engine rejections. Faults such as low oil pressure and other routine faults have not been included.
	As at 0800 on 30 October 2003, nine RAF C-130J aircraft were out of service. Of these nine, two aircraft were back in service 24 hours later. The average number of aircraft unavailable due to routine maintenance and engine problems during the first 10 months of 2003 is provided in the following table. Some aircraft may have undergone routine maintenance at the same time as being out of service for engine related problems.
	The figures in the table are not whole numbers because they are calculated as the number of aircraft that were unserviceable during the month multiplied by the proportion of the month that each aircraft was out of service. As an example, if one aircraft was unserviceable for 40 per cent. of the month then this would give an average of 0.4, as in January. These figures have then been expressed as a percentage in the second table.
	
		
			 Month Average numberof aircraft unserviceable for engine problems Average number of aircraft in scheduled maintenance 
		
		
			 January 0.4 2.0 
			 February 1.2 2.0 
			 March 1.2 1.1 
			 April 1.2 1.3 
			 May 7.7 1.3 
			 June 5.1 1.0 
			 July 4.6 1.8 
			 August 6.0 1.2 
			 September 6.1 1.7 
			 October 7.2 1.9 
		
	
	
		Average percentage of fleet (25 aircraft) unserviceable due to chronic engine faults during each month of 2003 (adjusted for proportion of month each aircraft was unserviceable)
		
			 Month Percentage of fleet 
		
		
			 January 1 
			 February 5 
			 March 5 
			 April 5 
			 May 31 
			 June 20 
			 July 18 
			 August 24 
			 September 25 
			 October 29

Childhood Obesity

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with other departments about implementing a strategy to tackle childhood obesity.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Chinook

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Mark 3 Chinooks the RAF has; what their cost to the RAF was in the last year for which figures are available; how many are active; and what the location is of those which are (a) active and (b) inactive.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the right hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Cluster Bombs

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the military strategic value of the use of cluster bombs in future conflicts based on experience in Iraq in the current year.

Adam Ingram: As a matter of course we conduct an exhaustive assessment after every military operation involving UK Forces. One element of this work will be an assessment of the effectiveness of all the equipment used during the operation. The publication of the Iraq lessons report is expected at the end of the year.

Combat Stress

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what help is being given to troops returning to the United Kingdom to cope with combat stress.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Complaints Procedures

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will establish a final appeal panel drawn from people outside the military system, as proposed by the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints procedures in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to establish a final appeal panel drawn from people outside the military system. The British armed forces are subject to the rule of law.

Consultancy Contracts

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many consultancies were commissioned by his Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Correspondence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will write to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South regarding his answer of 6 November 2003, Official Report, column 372W, concerning personnel working for private companies on contract on the MOD estate.

Ivor Caplin: I replied to the hon. Member today.

Croatia

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the commercial basis was for the payment in 2001 of $6.5 million by his Department in connection with the use of the North Port of Split, Croatia; and to whom the payment was made.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

D-Day Anniversary

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many requests for participation in events on fifth to sixth June 2004 have been received by (a) the Royal Air Force Participation Committee and (b) its Army and Royal Navy equivalents; whether participation in events on those two days by the Armed Forces has yet been allocated; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Royal Air Force Participation Committee has received 24 requests for participation in events on fifth to sixth June 2004. No allocations have been made at present. This type of information is not held centrally by the other two Services. I outlined the current situation on the 60th anniversary of D-Day during the recent Adjournment Debate on 11 November 2003, Official Report, columns 24–31W.

Defence Agencies (Finance)

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for (i) the Warship Support Agency, (ii) the Veterans Agency and (iii) the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for financial years (A) 2001–02 and (B) 2002–03;
	(2)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Defence Housing Executive, (ii) Defence Storage and Distribution Agency and (iii) Defence Transport and Movements Agency for financial years 1999–2000 to 2002–03.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Agencies (Finance)

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the Defence Communication Services Agency for financial years 1998–99 to 2002–03;
	(2)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the Defence Aviation Repair Agency for financial years 1999–2000 and 2000–01;
	(3)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency for financial years 2000–01 to 2002–03;
	(4)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Defence Procurement Agency, (ii) Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command and (iii) Major Customers Research Allocation for financial years 1999–2000 to 2002–03, broken down by management group;
	(5)  if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) operating cost statement, (b) balance sheet, (c) statement of recognised gains and losses, (d) cash flow statement and (e) fixed asset register for the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre for financial year 1997–98;
	(6)  if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) operating cost statement, (b) balance sheet, (c) statement of recognised gains and losses, (d) cash flow statement and (e) fixed asset register for the RAF Logistic Support Services for financial years 1997–98 and 1999–2000;
	(7)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre, (ii) Military Survey Defence Agency, (iii) RAF Logistic Support Services, (iv) RAF Signals Engineering Establishment and (v) Army Technical Support Agency for financial years 1997–98 to 1999–2000;
	(8)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation, (ii) RAF Maintenance Group Defence Agency, (iii) Specialist Procurement Services, (iv) Defence Transport and Movements Executive, (v) Defence Codification Agency, (vi) Defence Animal Centre and (vii) Army Base Storage and Distribution Agency for financial years 1997–98 and 1998–99;
	(9)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Ships Support Agency, (ii) Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency, (iii) Logistics Information Systems Agency and (iv) Naval Bases and Supply Agency for financial years 1997–98 to 2000–01;
	(10)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the Army Base Repair Organisation for financial years 1997–98 to 2001–02;
	(11)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Medical Supplies Agency, (ii) Ministry of Defence Police, (iii) Naval Manning Agency, (iv) Naval Recruiting and Training Agency, (v) Pay and Personnel Agency, (vi) Queen Victoria School, (vii) RAF Personnel Management Agency, (viii) RAF Training Group Defence Agency, (ix) Service Children's Education Agency, (x) Duke of York's Royal Military School and (xi) Disposal Sales Agency for financial years 1997–98 to 2002–03;
	(12)  what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn was for the (i) Defence Vetting Agency, (ii) Defence Secondary Care Agency, (iii) British Forces Post Office, (iv) Defence Medical Training Organisation, (v) Defence Intelligence and Security Centre, (vi) Defence Estates, (vii) Defence Dental Agency, (viii) Defence Bills Agency, (ix) Army Personnel Centre, (x) Army Training and Recruiting Agency and (xi) Defence Analytical Services Agency for financial years 1997–98 to 2002–03.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library copies of the (a) operating cost statement, (b) balance sheet, (c) statement of recognised gains and losses, (d) cash flow statement and (e) fixed asset register for the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency for financial year 2000–01.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given on 24 March Official Report, column 7W, and on 25 June 2003, Official Report, column 875W, to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin). The balance sheet for the former Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency for 2000–01 is available in the Library of the House. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1158W, covering related financial statements. I will send the hon. Member a copy of my reply.

Defence Expenditure

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what percentage of the defence budget was spent in each of the regions of the United Kingdom (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total in each of the last five years;
	(2)  if he will list the percentage of the defence budget per head spent in each United Kingdom region in the last year for which figures are available, in descending order.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Finance

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) cash allocation and (b) outturn for the (i) Commander-in-chief Fleet, (ii) General Officer Commanding (Northern Ireland), (iii) Commander-in-Chief Land Command, (iv) Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command, (v) Chief of Joint Operations, (vi) Chief of Defence Logistics, (vii) Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and (viii) Adjutant General were for the financial years 1999–2000 to 2002–03, broken down by management group.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Medical Services

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) regular and (b) reservist consultants (i) have served with and (ii) are serving with the Defence Medical Services on Operation Telic; and for how long they have been deployed.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 30 June 2003
	I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out his policy on defence procurement.

Adam Ingram: Our Acquisition Policy is set out in the Ministry of Defence Policy Paper No 4—Defence Acquisition. The Policy is driven by the need to secure and sustain the defence capabilities at the best value for money and at a price we can afford. Competition remains the principal means of achieving value for money, although we will consider alternative strategies, such as partnering, where they are more appropriate.
	Our Defence Industrial Policy, published in October 2002, sets out in more detail our approach to considering industrial issues in our Acquisition system.
	MOD Policy Paper No 4—Defence Acquisition is available in the House of Commons Library and via the website: http://www.mod.uk/issues/acquisition/index. htm
	Defence Industrial Policy Paper No 5: http://www. mod.uk/issues/industrial—policy.htm

Defence Stores Management Computer

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the abandonment of the Defence Stores Management Computer.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Defence Training Estate (Civilian Vehicles)

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what powers and in what circumstances a civilian vehicle (a) on and (b) off tracks on the Defence Training Estate may be confiscated; and by whom.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Staff

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for redeployment of members of his Department out of London and the South East.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

EU Directives

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the EU directives implemented by the Department since 8 June 2001.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence is consulted by other Government Departments on the negotiation or implementation of various European Directives. But EU Directives do not generally relate specifically to the MOD and the MOD has not been the lead Department in implementing any EU Directives since June 2001.

European Working Groups

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which his Department is responsible.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Formation Readiness Cycle

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the formation readiness cycle; and whether it has met the delivery aims set out in the Strategic Defence Review.

Geoff Hoon: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Future Aircraft Carrier

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated date of delivery is of the first ship in the future aircraft carrier project; and in which financial year peak procurement expenditure is expected to fall.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Future Aircraft Carrier

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on progress with the future aircraft carrier programme;
	(2)  what changes have been made in the design specifications for the future aircraft carrier;
	(3)  what the value of the future aircraft carrier contract was (a) when it was awarded and (b) at the latest available date;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the effect upon contractors of changes in design specifications for the future aircraft carrier.

Adam Ingram: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Future Command Liaison Vehicle

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Future Rapid Effects System programme on procurement of the Future Command Liaison Vehicle.

Adam Ingram: The number of Future Command Liaison Vehicles (FCLV) ordered takes into account the current analysis of the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) requirement.

Future Command Liaison Vehicle

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his written statement of 6 November 2003, Official Report, column 44WS, on Future Command Liaison Vehicle, what armoured vehicle arrangements will be made for the RAF Regiment; and how many vehicles from the manoeuvre and support brigades' fleet will be used to make up the shortfall.

Adam Ingram: The RAF Regiment's requirement is being met by its current fleet of TUM (Land Rovers) and Saxons, and these will continue to be supported through life.

Future Command Liaison Vehicle

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects to make a decision on the procurement of the second batch of the Future Command Liaison Vehicle.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Alvis Vickers Limited for an initial batch of 401 Future Command and Liaison Vehicles, with the option to purchase a further 400 vehicles. We continue to keep our requirement under review, taking into account the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Rationalisation and Future Army Structure studies, as well as progress with the Future Rapid Effects System programme.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United Kingdom jobs he forecasts will be involved with each of the bidders for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft contract; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft PFI competition has yet to be concluded. Our decision will be based on the solution that provides the required capability at best value for money. Both bids could be expected to create or sustain several thousand jobs in the United Kingdom.

Fylingdales

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has collated on the health of the population in the vicinity of Fylingdales.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has not collated any research on the state of health of the local population near RAF Fylingdales. The radar there operates well within health guidelines established by the National Radiological Protection Board. Local health authorities are however undertaking their own research in response to public concerns raised on this matter.

Gripen Jets (Czech Republic)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings he has held with the Government of the Czech Republic regarding the possible sale of Gripen jets and the Czech decision to buy supersonic aircraft since 1 January 1999; when each of these meetings was held; where each of these meetings was held; and whom in the Government of the Czech Republic he met on each occasion.

Adam Ingram: Defence Ministers are in frequent contact with members of the government of the Czech Republic and regularly meet in both bilateral and multilateral fora. A range of issues are routinely discussed.
	The Defence Secretary held formal bilateral meetings at which the Czech requirement for supersonic aircraft was discussed on the following occasions:
	23 November 1999 during the WEU Ministerial meeting in Luxembourg—with the Czech Defence Minister;
	11 October 2000 in the UK (London)—with the Czech Prime Minister;
	3–4 December 2001 in the Czech Republic (Prague)—with the Czech Defence Minister;
	23 July 2002 in the UK (Farnborough International Air Show)—with the Czech Defence Minister;
	24 September 2002 during the NATO informal Defence Ministers' meeting in Poland (Warsaw)—with the Czech Defence Minister;
	21 November 2002 during the NATO Summit in the Czech Republic (Prague)—with the Czech Defence Minister;
	30 April 2003 in the Czech Republic (Prague)—with the Czech Defence Minister

Gulf Personnel

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British personnel are in the Gulf.

Adam Ingram: The precise number of personnel in the Gulf fluctuates daily. As at 19 November there were around 10,600 United Kingdom personnel in the Gulf area.

Gulf War Syndrome

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of whether Gulf War Syndrome exists; what relevant studies of the issue he has recently assessed; and if he will make a statement on future expenditure on (a) research and (b) treatment for people suffering from Gulf War illnesses.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Hutton Inquiry

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his comments before the Hutton Inquiry, what precedent the Permanent Secretary feared would be created in allowing Dr. Kelly to appear before the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Geoff Hoon: I assume that my right hon. Friend is referring to the oral evidence which I gave on 27 August at pages 81–84 of the transcript. The concern about creating a precedent in fact related to the Intelligence and Security Committee, not the Foreign Affairs Committee. This is clear from Sir Kevin Tebbit's minute of 10 July which has been published on the Hutton Inquiry website (reference MOD/1/0075).

Infantry Battalions

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2003, Official Report, column 433W, on infantry battalions, which army battalions have made representations to his Department in relation to the forthcoming Defence White Paper;
	(2)  what discussions he has held with representatives of army infantry battalions prior to producing the Defence White Paper;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the financial effects of restructuring Scottish army battalions;
	(4)  when he last held discussions with representatives of Scottish infantry battalions.

Adam Ingram: No discussions have been held with representatives of Army Infantry Battalions prior to producing the Defence White Paper; nor have discussions been held with representatives of Scottish Infantry Battalions. No assessment has been made of the financial benefits of restructuring Scottish Army Battalions. No Army Battalions have made direct representations to the Ministry of Defence in relation to the forthcoming Defence White Paper. Representations have, however, been received from representatives of Army Battalions, for instance, from individuals in regimental associations.

Information Technology

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's (a) total managed expenditure, (b) total spending on information technology and (c) spending on information technology as a proportion of its total managed expenditure was in each financial year since 1997–98.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Joint Strike Fighters

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many joint strike fighters he intends to deploy on each future aircraft carrier;
	(2)  how many joint strike fighters would need to be purchased to support the deployment of 96 of such aircraft on the two future aircraft carriers;
	(3)  what maximum number of joint strike fighters could be simultaneously regularly deployed on the two future aircraft carriers, if the total purchase of joint strike fighters were reduced to 110 aircraft.

Adam Ingram: While no final decisions have been taken, our current planning assumption is that we will acquire up to 150 Short Take Off and Vertical Landing variants of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft which is sufficient to meet our Future Joint Combat Aircraft (FJCA) requirements.
	FJCA is not meant solely to be deployed on our future carrier. It will be a truly joint aircraft capable of operating from both land and sea. The precise number of FJCA we would deploy on future carriers would be dependent on the mission to be undertaken, other rotary wing and surveillance assets being deployed, and other operations being undertaken concurrently.

Kenya

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Kenyan citizens paid compensation by the Department in July 2002 were paid at (a) Kenyan and (b) British compensation rates.

Adam Ingram: When a claim from overseas is heard in the United Kingdom under both common law and Part III of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 any aspect of damages to be regarded as quantitative will be governed by the law of the country where the case is heard. In the case of Kenyan tribespeople claiming compensation for injury allegedly caused by unexploded ordnance, the level of damages awarded were assessed according to English principles.

Kenya

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures were used by the Department to investigate the claims of the Kenyan citizens paid compensation in July 2002.

Adam Ingram: The investigation of a claim is tailored to meet the specific circumstances of each case.
	In the case of Kenyan tribespeople claiming compensation for injuries allegedly caused by unexploded ordnance, the Ministry of Defence appointed a recently retired Brigadier and a serving Major to investigate the claims in both Kenya and the UK. In addition, a British Army surgeon was instructed to examine the medical evidence. Although the Ministry of Defence disputed liability in a number of cases, evidence based on inquest reports, Kenyan magistrates courts records, post mortem reports, police investigation reports, police post incident reports, certificates of death and medical reports indicated that some limited liabilities rested with the Department. A settlement was reached through mediation in July 2002.

Life Insurance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) of 27 October 2003, Official Report, column 6W, on life insurance, how many (a) regular and (b) reserve personnel serving in the Gulf have cover; and how many do not.

Adam Ingram: Commercial life insurance is not part of the benefits the Ministry of Defence provides. For those who die in Service or leave the Service due to injury, the MOD's support is provided by the War Pension Scheme, the Armed Forces Pension Scheme and (for reservists) the Reserve Forces (Attributable Benefits Etc) Regulations. Moreover, as personal insurance is a complex area and one that is becoming increasingly regulated by the Financial Services Authority, it is MOD policy not to endorse, sponsor or recommend any commercial insurance scheme. Therefore, while MOD encourages regulars and reservists to ensure that they are appropriately insured for their particular circumstances, the decision whether to purchase cover, and which scheme to join, must be a matter for the individual, and as such is not monitored by the Ministry of Defence.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 April 2003, Official Report, columns 57–58W, by my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow).

Market Testing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated level of saving to the Department is from the use of market testing in 2002–03.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could not be compiled without disproportionate cost. Market testing has been subsumed into MOD's wider arrangements for evaluating differing acquisition options for services, including Public Private Partnerships.

Medical Downgradings

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of each service are medically downgraded; what percentage of the trained strength this represents; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: holding 19 November answer 2003
	The fact that an individual is medically downgraded does not mean that they are not working. The vast majority of those downgraded will be working normally, albeit with their deployability limited by their medical condition. Those who are categorised as medically downgraded includes not only those who are ill, or injured and awaiting treatment, but also pregnant personnel, and personnel who are permanently downgraded because of a long-term condition, but are retained in the Services in recognition of their training, skills and experience.
	The latest figures available are for July 2003, when the following numbers of trained Regular Service personnel were reported to be in a medically downgraded category.
	
		
			  Total number of trained personnelin medically downgraded category Percentage of trained strength, by Service, who are medically downgraded 
		
		
			 Royal Navy 2,410 8.0 
			 Royal Marines 590 9.2 
			 Army(29) 10,600 12.5 
			 Royal Air Force 4,470 9.2 
		
	
	(29) Figures are not currently available for Army Officers
	Notes:
	1. These figures exclude Full Time Reserve Service personnel (FTRS), Gurkhas, Royal Irish (home service) and reservists who have been mobilised for duty.
	2. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines figures are based on their Medical Category, and are all those who are not categorised as P2 (Fit for worldwide service without restriction)
	3. The Army figures are based on the PULHHEEMS standards, showing those who are not able to be graded Forward Everywhere (FE), which means that they are not employable in full combatant duties, in any area, in any part of the world. The figures include those who are temporarily and permanently downgraded.
	4. The RAF figures are based on the Medical Employment Standard, and are all those who have a limitation against their "Ground" work capability.
	As the Services each have a different method of determining who is medically fit for role, the figures are not comparable.

Military Aircraft

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of (a) United States and (b) United Kingdom military aircraft flying over Scotland since 1 September.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 17 November 2003
	The information sought is not held in the required format. Details of the number of United States and British military aircraft flying over Scotland above 2,000 feet are not held centrally. However, all military aircraft flying within the United Kingdom low flying system, that is those that operate below 2,000 feet, are recorded. Low flying areas (LFAs) 14 and 16 most closely conform to the geographic boundaries of Scotland.
	The numbers of aircraft that flew within these LFAs between 1 September and 7 November are as follows:
	
		
			 Aircraft type Number of military aircraft 
		
		
			 British Military Fixed Wing 3,510 
			 British Military Rotary 361 
			 US Military Fixed Wing 91 
			 US Military Rotary 0 
			 Total 3,962

Military Capabilities

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his intention that a reduction in the size of the two future aircraft carriers will lead to no diminution of military capability.

Adam Ingram: No final decisions have yet been taken on the main capability specifications for the Future Aircraft Carrier programme, currently in its Assessment Phase. The intention, as with any other new equipment project, has always been to use the Assessment Phase to refine the design in order to best meet our capability requirements and to ensure value for money.

Military Capabilities

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what aspects of the designed capability of (a) Type 45 destroyers, (b) Astute-class submarines and (c) Joint Strike Fighters have been changed since 1998.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom Type 45 destroyer programme began in late 1999, following completion of Phase 1 of the tri-national Horizon programme which was carried out in collaboration with France and Italy. Much of the designed capability under the Horizon programme is being developed further in the Type 45 programme and has increased in a number of areas. The most significant change from Horizon has been in the provision for growth so that equipments may be added later to meet future capability requirements. The Type 45 design also incorporates a number of features to enable it to support and deploy an Embarked Military Force of 60 troops. In addition, it includes improvements to the operational range in extreme environmental conditions and the development of an Integrated Electric Propulsion system, which will reduce through life costs.
	The designed capability of the Astute class submarines has increased in some areas since 1998. These changes comprise: improved weapon handling and discharge; increased weapon stowage capacity, together with an additional torpedo tube; the fitting of Tomahawk missile capability; and the introduction of improved tactical data link capability, which allows joint operational planning to be conducted by co-operating forces and the UK HQ. Also under consideration are options for the inclusion of capability, such as improved navigation and data communications, in the first three boats which was originally planned for later submarines in the Class.
	The Joint Strike Fighter project is currently in the Systems Demonstration and Development (SDD) phase. There has been no change in the designed capability of the aircraft since the contract for the SDD phase was let in October 2001. In the previous Concept Demonstration Phase, which began in 1996, the joint UK/US operational requirement was developed to arrive at an affordable solution to satisfy the needs of the UK and the three participating US Services.

Military Exercises

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 10 November 2003, Official Report, columns 51–52W, on military exercises (cancellation), how many military exercises were cancelled in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 to date; what savings were made from cancellations; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 November 2003
	I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Vehicles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vehicles there are in the manoeuvre and support brigades' fleet; and how many of this fleet are (a) Saxons, (b) Land Rovers, (c) drawn from the 430 Series and (d) drawn from the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) fleets.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Meetings

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when since 1 January 1999 Ministers in his Department have held meetings with the Government of Qatar; which Ministers in his Department attended each of these meetings; and where each of these meetings was held.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

MOD Police

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column 516W, on the MOD Police, when he proposes to bring into force the provisions of (a) section 25 and (b) section 79(3) of the Police Reform Act 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Section 25 of the Police Reform Act 2002 relates to misconduct and complaint regulations for the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad, and is therefore a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
	Section 79(3) is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and will be brought into force early next year.

MOD Staff (Wales)

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's civilian staff were (a) working in and (b) based in Wales in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

MOD Staff (Wales)

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the changes in Ministry of Defence staff in Wales for each quarter since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Staffing levels and changes for Ministry of Defence staff in Wales (full-time equivalent figures for industrial and non-industrial, permanent staff, excluding Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and those on career breaks, long term sick leave, secondments etc.):
	
		
			 Date Civilian staff Change 
		
		
			 October 2003 3,950 -30 
			 July 2003 3,970 -200 
			 April 2003 4,170 -40 
			 January 2003 4,210 -10 
			 October 2002 4,220 -50 
			 July 2002 4,270 -160 
			 April 2002 4,430 +50 
			 January 2002 4,390 +10 
			 October 2001 4,380 -10 
			 July 2001 4,390 -390 
			 April 2001 4,780 -110 
			 January 2001 4,890 -10 
			 October 2000 4,900 -20 
			 July 2000 4,920 -60 
			 April 2000 4,970 +290 
			 January 2000(30) 4,690 -40 
			 October 1999(30) 4,720 -300 
			 July 1999 5,020 -70 
			 April 1999 5,100 +340 
			 January 1999(30) 4,760 -330 
			 October 1998 5,090 +50 
			 July 1998(30) 4,670 -370 
			 April 1998 5,050 +90 
			 January 1998 4,950 +40 
			 October 1997 4,920 +90 
			 July 1997 4,830 -60 
			 April 1997 4,890 -60 
			 January 1997 4,840 — 
		
	
	(30) Breakdown by location was not available for DSTL in these months.
	Notes:
	1. This includes Trading Fund staff.
	2. Full-time equivalent is a measure of the size of the work force that takes account of the fact that some people work part-time.
	3. Changes are calculated from unrounded data, and then rounded to the nearest 10.

MOD Staff (Wales)

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed in Wales by (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies responsible to his Department; where these staff are located; and how many staff are employed in (i) England, (ii) London and the South-East, (iii) Scotland, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) United Kingdom in total.

Ivor Caplin: The number of civilian staff employed in Wales (full-time equivalent figures for industrial and non-industrial, permanent staff, excluding Royal Fleet Auxiliaries and those on career breaks, long term sick leave, secondments etc.), by the Department and by executive agencies as at 1 April 2003 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Civilian staff employed as at1 April 2003 
		
		
			 Army Personnel Centre — 
			 Army Training And Recruiting Agency 140 
			 British Forces Post Office 10 
			 Defence Communication Service Agency 10 
			 Defence Dental Agency — 
			 Defence Estates 20 
			 Defence Housing Executive 10 
			 Defence Procurement Agency — 
			 Defence Storage And Distribution Agency 190 
			 Ministry of Defence (Excluding Agencies) 790 
			 Ministry of Defence Police — 
			 Naval Recruiting And Training Agency 10 
			 RAF Training Group Defence Agency 140 
			 Veterans Agency 10 
			 Total (excluding Trading Funds) 1,350 
			   
			 Trading Funds:  
			 ABRO 20 
			 Defence Aviation Repair Agency 2,770 
			 Defence Science And Technology Laboratory — 
			 Meteorological Office 40 
			 Total (including Trading Funds) 4,170 
		
	
	Notes:
	Those Agencies and Trading Funds that are not referred to do not have staff employed in Wales. Data have been rounded to the nearest 10 and those with fewer than five staff are recorded as '—'. Detailed data on staff locations is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of staff employed by the Department (full-time equivalent figures for industrial and non-industrial, permanent staff, excluding Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, Locally Engaged Staff and those on career breaks, long term sick leave, secondments etc.) as at 1 April 2003 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Region Civilian staff employed as at1 April 2003 Trading Fund staff 
		
		
			 UK (including unallocated) 72,320 11,920 
			 England 58,240 8,270 
			 London 6,410 660 
			 South East 14,280 3,490 
			 Scotland 6,510 610 
			 Wales 1,350 2,830 
			 Northern Ireland 3,280 30 
			 Unallocated 2,940 190 
		
	
	Full-time equivalent is a measure of the size of the work force that takes account of the fact that some people work part-time.

National Insurance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost will be to public funds in 2003–04 of the rise in national insurance contributions on the salary bill of his Department.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Non-lethal Chemical Agents

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will list out-of-country missions in the last 20 years when British forces have (a) carried with them and (b) used non-lethal chemical agents; and in each case what the agents were, in which amounts and which delivery devices were used;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on UK policy on the use of non-lethal chemical agents by UK forces abroad.

Adam Ingram: holding answers 10 September and 11 September 2003
	The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the development, production and use of all toxic chemicals and their precursors, except where they are intended for purposes not prohibited under the Convention, as long as the type and quantities are consistent with such purposes. "Purposes not prohibited" includes protective purposes related to protection against chemical weapons, as well as "law enforcement including domestic riot control purposes". United Kingdom armed forces comply with the UK's obligations under international law. We therefore would only carry, and would only use, non-lethal chemical agents for protective purposes related to protection against chemical weapons and for "law enforcement including domestic riot control purposes".
	Records of out-of-country operational deployments from 1983 to 2003 show only two deployments of 'non-lethal chemical agents' with UK Forces. These were to Bosnia in 1997, and to Kosovo between January and July 1999. UK troops in Bosnia and Kosovo were provided with CS or CR for activities relating to law enforcement activities. The delivery systems that could be used would be by shotgun cartridge or grenade.
	CS has also been taken overseas for defensive training purposes. This includes, for example, NBC training in Germany and testing of respirators onboard Royal Navy vessels.

Nuclear Waste

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the sites on which intermediate level nuclear waste for which his Department is responsible is stored; and what volume is stored on each site.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 18 November 2003
	Information about the locations and amounts of MOD radioactive waste is regularly published in the National Inventory. This includes intermediate level nuclear waste. The latest edition (published on 22 October 2002) shows a snapshot in time as of April 2001. It describes all stocks of waste held in the UK including that from the Ministry of Defence at that date, together with predictions of wastes arising in the future.
	The details of the Report are:
	The 2001 United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory Main Report
	DEFRA Report DEFRA/RAS/02.004
	NIREX report N/042
	October 2002
	ISBN 1 84029 287 3
	The report is available on CD from the Corporate Communications Adviser United Kingdom NIREX Ltd., Curie Avenue, Didcot, Oxfordshire. OX11 ORH Phone+44(0) 1235 825500, email: info@nirex.co.uk

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 30 October 2003, Official Report, column 320W, on weapons of mass destruction, from which parts of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty the Government derived the conclusion that the UK and other nuclear weapons states are legally entitled to possess nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: As defined in Article 9(3) of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the United Kingdom is recognised as one of the five nuclear weapon states.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the United Kingdom of (a) housing United States nuclear weapons and (b) the planned modernisation of storage facilities for United States nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: All costs associated with the United States visiting forces based in the United Kingdom are subject to confidential cost sharing arrangements between the UK and US Governments. I am therefore withholding the information requested under Exemption 1 (defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Official Properties

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by ministers and officials in each year since 1997.

Geoff Hoon: The Ministry of Defence provides accommodation for Service personnel (and for United Kingdom based civil servants serving abroad) as a condition of service. Within the Service Families Accommodation stock of some 75,000 properties worldwide are 37 properties known as Official Service Residences. These properties are maintained to a higher than normal standard, owing to the presentational role of the occupant and the requirement for them to host and sometimes accommodate guests of the most senior level, including representatives of overseas states, in their homes. The MOD is also responsible for costs associated with the Government-owned official residence assigned to the Secretary of State for Defence by the Prime Minister during 2002.
	Costs for these 37 properties (excluding staff costs and income from charges paid), and those for the residence provided for the Secretary of State for Defence for the last two years are shown in the table. Data prior to this was not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		£
		
			 Residences 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Maintenance 939,651 1,061,259 
			 Renovation 200,587 141,693 
			 Council Tax 41,563 47,932 
			 Running Costs 848,430 1,060,291

Operation Southern Focus

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions (a) he and (b) British defence staff had with representatives of the United States on Operation Southern Focus; and when these discussions took place.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Operation Telic

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what types and quantities of Iraqi chemical and biological warfare protection and detection equipment were recovered by UK forces during Operation Telic; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Both during and since the decisive combat phase of Operation Telic UK forces have discovered and disposed of a large amount of Iraqi Biological and Chemical individual protective equipment. The equipment included gas masks, protective suits, chemical-based detection tubes and training equipment.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the reason for the delay in answering Question No 34033 of Session 2001–02, tabled on 8 February 2002.

Lewis Moonie: There was no delay in answering Parliamentary Question No 34033 of Session 2001–02. The reply was printed on 12 February 2003, Official Report, column 170W.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the performance targets that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and if he will specify for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Press Briefings

Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what guidelines exist for officials in his Department, other than those in the Press Office, when they talk to journalists;
	(2)  at what level in the Department officials may be authorised to give non-attributable briefings to the Press.

Geoff Hoon: All civil servants are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code. Guidelines for MOD officials on talking to journalists are also available and I refer my hon. Friend to evidence provided to the Hutton Inquiry on this issue.

Project Connaught

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the expected proceeds from the sale of land in Aldershot in connection with Project Connaught are; and how much is intended to be reinvested in improvements to the Aldershot Garrison;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the progress of Project Connaught.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Public Service Agreement

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what grades of officials are responsible for the monitoring of progress towards the public service agreement targets of his Department.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

RAF Leave

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines have been given to RAF squadrons in respect of the taking of leave over the forthcoming Christmas period; and whether extra days holiday have been given to RAF personnel.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

RAF Northolt

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in each of the last five years (a) the Prime Minister and (b) other ministers of the Crown have flown from RAF Northolt.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Recruitment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people (a) applied to join and (b) were accepted into HM armed forces in each month in 2003; how many were from (a) the UK and (b) Commonwealth countries; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Recruitment

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 10 November 2003, Official Report, column 47W, on Commonwealth recruits, if he will break down the figures for Commonwealth recruits by countries of origin; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: For the last five financial years the intake of Regular Army personnel with a nationality recorded as being from the Commonwealth (excluding United Kingdom and UK dependent territories) was as follows:
	
		
			 Nationality 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Antiguan 0 0 (31)— (31)— 0 
			 Australian 15 10 20 10 15 
			 Bangalee (31)— 0 0 (31)— (31)— 
			 Barbadian (31)— 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 Belizean 0 (31)— (31)— 0 (31)— 
			 Botswana 0 0 0 0 (31)— 
			 British Commonwealth Foreign 5 (31)— (31)— (31)— 0 
			 Cameroon 0 0 0 (31)— (31)— 
			 Canadian 15 15 10 10 5 
			 Dominican 0 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 Fijian 20 315 265 490 470 
			 Gambian (31)— (31)— (31)— 10 20 
			 Ghanaian (31)— 0 15 80 150 
			 Grenadian 0 (31)— 5 10 15 
			 Guyanese 0 (31)— (31)— 0 5 
			 Indian (31)— (31)— (31)— 5 5 
			 Jamaican 10 10 45 180 420 
			 Kenyan (31)— (31)— 10 10 15 
			 Malawi 0 (31)— 0 (31)— 20 
			 Malaysian (31)— 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 Maltese 5 (31)— (31)— 0 (31)— 
			 Mauritian 0 0 (31)— (31)— 5 
			 Namibian (fmly SW African) 0 (31)— 0 0 (31)— 
			 New Zealander 10 5 10 10 15 
			 Nigerian 0 0 5 10 20 
			 Pakistani 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 Rhodesian 0 0 0 (31)— 0 
			 Seychellois 0 0 0 (31)— (31)— 
			 Sierra Leone (31)— (31)— (31)— (31)— 5 
			 Singaporean 0 0 0 (31)— 0 
			 South African 30 45 65 120 150 
			 Sri Lankan (31)— 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 St. Lucia 0 (31)— (31)— 15 205 
			 St. Vincent 0 0 185 5 120 
			 Swazi 0 0 0 0 (31)— 
			 Tanzanian 0 0 0 (31)— (31)— 
			 Tongan (31)— 0 0 (31)— (31)— 
			 Trinidadian (31)— (31)— 10 15 25 
			 Ugandan 0 0 (31)— (31)— 10 
			 Zambian (31)— 0 (31)— (31)— (31)— 
			 Zimbabwean 15 20 35 120 235 
			 Total 140 445 715 1,115 1,960 
		
	
	(31) — Indicates fewer than five.
	Notes:
	Totals are trained and untrained officer and other ranks joining the UK Regular Army in financial years 1998–2003 from civil life. Transfers from other services are excluded.
	The nationality is that of nationality at time of recruitment and not at birth.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Retention Policy

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will amend Queen's Regulation 9.404 to define the exceptional reasons which would make the retention of a soldier desirable if he has been sentenced by a civil court or by court-martial to imprisonment, detention or any other form of custodial sentence; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to amend The Queen's Regulations for the Army to define the exceptional reasons which would make the retention of a soldier desirable if he has been sentenced by a civil court or by court-martial to imprisonment, detention or any other form of custodial sentence.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Sea King Helicopter

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish findings from the inquiry into the accidents involving two Royal Naval Sea Kings from RNAS Culdrose at the commencement of military operations in the Gulf in March.

Adam Ingram: A summary of the findings of the Military Aircraft Accident Investigation will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons when it is completed. The investigation is on-going and will report once we are content that it is as full and complete as possible.

Service Manning Requirements

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on reasons for the reduction in manning requirement for the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force since 1998.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Service Personnel (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the number of service personnel (a) stationed in Scotland, (b) serving with a Scottish regiment, (c) serving with a regiment whose home base is located in Scotland, (d) recruited in Scotland, (e) trained in Scotland, (f) retired in Scotland and (g) identifying their nationality as Scottish, for each of the Services in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Special Advisers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the salary bill was for special advisers in his Department in 2002–03; and what it is expected to be in 2003–04.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed by his Department.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were employed by his Department in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Submarines

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected size is of the nuclear submarine fleet excluding the SSBNs.

Adam Ingram: In line with the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, current plans are that the Royal Navy's Swiftsure and Trafalgar class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) force level will reduce to 10 vessels by 2006. The Swiftsure and Trafalgar class vessels will be progressively superseded by new Astute class capability through a phased replacement programme towards the end of this decade.
	After 2006, there will be variations each year in the number of SSNs, depending on the precise schedule of the decommissioning of in-service boats and the entry into service of the new capability. Final decisions on the overall size of the Astute class have yet to be taken.

Territorial Army

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from members of the Territorial Army regarding the length of their tours of duty in Iraq.

Ivor Caplin: Ministers have received nine letters and e-mails from members of the Territorial Army, expressing concern about the length of their tours of duty in Iraq.

Transport Aircraft

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to purchase C-17 aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Transport Aircraft

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many C-130J Mark 5 aircraft have been delivered; and how many are serviceable;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the out of service date for the C-130K fleet;
	(3)  what work is planned to upgrade the C-130K fleet; and whether this will include upgrading of the wings.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Type 45 destroyers his Department estimates would normally be needed to protect a future aircraft carrier in a war zone.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 152W.

Type 45 Destroyers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Type 45 destroyers would be capable of continuous deployment in cycles based upon the purchase of (a) nine, (b) 10, (c) 11 and (d) 12 such vessels.

Adam Ingram: The Royal Navy does not seek to maintain continuous deployments of individual ship types, the only exception being the Vanguard class submarine. Instead, we aim to balance capability across the fleet against current and potential tasks. The modern Type 45 destroyers will have increased availability and improved capability beyond that of the Type 42s that they are due to replace.

Typhoon

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the expenditure on tranche 2 of Typhoon combat aircraft will be allocated; and whether those funds will be used to develop a ground attack capability.

Adam Ingram: The commitment of some £200 million on tranche 2 of Typhoon has been allocated to cover a range of activities designed to reduce risk and provide a measure of protection to the overall Typhoon programme. These activities include; Computer Risk Reduction Programme, Obsolescence reduction, Equipment Development and other Long Lead Time activities. It is planned that an element of this funding will be used to develop ground attack capability.

Typhoon

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to convert the order for a second tranche of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft into aircraft with ground attack capability.

Adam Ingram: The Eurofighter Typhoon will be a multi-role aircraft and will have an initial ground attack capability. Thereafter, it will progressively benefit throughout tranche 2 from an enhanced ground attack capability, as part of the planned incremental acquisition programme. The enhancements are likely to cover datalink and avionics upgrades and integration of a range of air to ground weapons.

Vaccines

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether each vaccine administered to service personnel deployed in Iraq was used according to the manufacturer's guidelines; whether all vaccines used are licensed in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Weather Reports

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the Meteorological Office weather reports on television and radio exclude the temperature in Fahrenheit.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Website

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the content and design of his Department's website.

Ivor Caplin: In recent years, especially during times of conflict, the Ministry of Defence's website (www.mod.uk) has become an increasingly important medium for explaining what we do and why we do it, to audiences across the world. It is also a vital tool in communicating with our own people.
	Content is continually assessed and reviewed both in terms of meeting public and internal demand.
	Recent assessments have included a usability study of the site's business to business information services. The results of this study will be used in the implementation of a redesigned business to business portal. An evaluation of internet content also forms part of the Defence Information Infrastructure project which will be used to inform future developments of the site.

Whistleblowing

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there is public interest immunity in whistleblowing cases for (a) serving soldiers in Her Majesty's armed forces, (b) medical and welfare staff in his Department, (c) administrative personnel and other civil servants in his Department and (d) lawyers attached to his Department.

Ivor Caplin: Under the provisions of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, the Act covers all Ministry of Defence civil servants including medical, welfare, administrative and civilian lawyers attached to the Department. The Act does not apply to members, or former members, of the armed forces.

Wind Farms

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his assessment of the effect of wind farms on military radar facilities.

Ivor Caplin: I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Arson

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost to the criminal justice system of court proceedings and sentencing for arson was in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002.

Hazel Blears: I have been asked to reply.
	I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department and its predecessor in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: There have been no contracts awarded to Bechtel since 1997 by agencies responsible to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or to its predecessor Departments.

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many single, homeless (a) women and (b) men were in bed and breakfast accommodation in England in March.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 27 October 2003, Official Report, column 102W. Detailed data supplied by local authorities in respect of March 2003 are currently being validated and provisional analyses are expected to be available before the end of December. I will write to the hon. Member when the information is published.

Business Co-ordination Unit

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many events in the last month the Business Co-ordination Unit has arranged for Ministers to attend.

Yvette Cooper: In the last month the Business Co-ordination Unit (BCU) has arranged attendance by Ministers at 13 events. In addition, proposals for a further eight visits are being considered by Ministers.

Business Co-ordination Unit

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the running costs were of the Business Co-ordination Unit in the last financial year.

Yvette Cooper: The running costs of the Business Co-ordination Unit (ECU) in the last financial year totalled £111,000.
	The BCU's work includes promoting ministerial interaction with the business community, local government, the voluntary and community sectors, national bodies and regional interests and non-departmental public bodies.

Business Co-ordination Unit

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many staff are employed by the Business Co-ordination Unit.

Yvette Cooper: The Business Co-ordination Unit (BCU) employs three staff.

Business Co-ordination Unit

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the postal costs were to the Business Co-ordination Unit of sending leaflets advertising Ministers' availability to attend business functions.

Yvette Cooper: The Business Co-ordination Unit's (BCU) postal costs for sending leaflets advertising Ministers' availability to attend business functions to the end of the last financial year totalled about £50. However, leaflets have also been handed out at exhibitions and other business-related events.

Consultancy Contracts

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many consultancies were commissioned by his Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established on 29 May 2002. The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Council Tax

Matthew Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total collected council tax was in each financial year since 1996–97.

Nick Raynsford: pursuant to his reply, 13 November 2003, Official Report, c. 454W
	The information requested is tabled as follows. The figures shown are the amounts of council tax collected during each financial year, irrespective of the year to which they related.
	
		Amounts of council tax collected, England
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1996–97 8,799 
			 1997–98 9,570 
			 1998–99 10,579 
			 1999–2000 11,457 
			 2000–01 12,242 
			 2001–02 13,208 
			 2002–03 14,511

Departmental Budget

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose, (b) annual budget since inception, (c) projected budget for the next two years and (d) current work programme of his Department's (i) Homelessness Directorate, (ii) Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, (iii) Planning Directorate, (iv) Regional Co-ordination Unit, (v) Social Exclusion Unit, (vi) Housing Directorate and (vii) Local and Regional Government Research Directorate; how many staff are employed by each body; where these staff are located; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Costs

Owen Paterson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the costs of running his Office between May 2002 and May 2003; and what forecast he has made for the year from May 2003.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the "Public Expenditure 2002–03 Provisional Outturn White Paper" (HM Treasury, July 2003) (Cm 5884) which shows outturn of £336.831 million against an administration costs limit of £350.724 million for 2002–03. The "Central Government Supply Estimates 2003–04—Main Supply Estimates" (HM Treasury, 6 May 2003) (HC 648) show an administration costs limit for 2003–04 of £367.110 million, which includes non-cash charges not previously covered by the administration costs limit and which would account for more than half of the increase over the 2002–03 figure.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on public transport by (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: Spending on public transport since May 2002 is as follows:
	(a) £8,473.
	(b) £30,688.
	(c), (d) and (e) For the Office's non-departmental bodies, executive agencies and Government Offices the information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have paid for (i) the congestion charge and (ii) fines for non-payment of the congestion charge since its introduction.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on (i) hiring and (ii) purchasing (A) indoor plants, (B) outdoor plants and (C) horticultural and garden products since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on alcohol for official entertainment since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: Spending on alcohol for official entertainment since May 2002 is as follows:
	(a) £1,132
	(b) £1,168
	(c), (d) and (e) The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on drinking water since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on attending conferences since May 2002; and if he will list each conference.

Yvette Cooper: This information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on (i) food, (ii) beverages and (iii) entertainment (A) at functions where only employees of these bodies were present and (B) for visitors since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on refurbishment by (a) his Ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: Since May 2002, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has spent £1.6 million on the refurbishment of Eland House. It is not possible to separate out the costsfor Ministerial offices, so the figures cover costs for all the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's offices.
	The information for executive agencies and Non Departmental Bodies is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on (a) first class and (b) second class postage by (i) his ministerial office, (ii) other ministerial offices within his Department, (iii) non-departmental bodies, (iv) executive agencies and (v) his Department since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's accounting system has recorded expenditure of £42,641 on postage since May 2002. Expenditure on first and second class postage, and expenditure on postage by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's and other ministerial offices is not separately identifiable.
	For the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's non-departmental bodies and executive agencies the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on (a) purchasing commissioned and (b) hiring art work by (i) his Ministerial office, (ii) other ministerial offices within his Department, (iii) non-departmental bodies, (iv) executive agencies and (v) his Department since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: As with previous Administrations, Government Departments are supplied Art work by the Government Art Collection (GAC) on a loan basis. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not spent any money hiring art work or purchasing commissioned art work.
	The information requested for executive agencies, Government Offices and Non Departmental Bodies is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on ministerial boxes by (a) his Ministerial office and (b) other ministerial offices within his Department since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The Deputy Prime Minister's Ministerial office has spent £235 on ministerial boxes and other ministerial offices within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have spent £4,888 since May 2002.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on lap-top computers since May 2002; and how many lap-top computers have been (i) lost and (ii) stolen since May 2002;
	(2)  how much has been spent on purchasing (a) fans and (b) air conditioning units by (i) his ministerial office, (ii) other ministerial offices within his Department, (iii) non-departmental bodies, (iv) executive agencies and (v) his Department since May 2002;
	(3)  how many (a) DVD players, (b) CD players, (c) televisions and (d) radios have been purchased by (i) his ministerial office, (ii) other ministerial offices within his Department, (iii) non-departmental bodies, (iv) executive agencies and (v) his Department since May 2002; and what the cost was in each case.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his Ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on office couriers since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have spent on (i) water charges, (ii) electricity charges, (iii) wallpaper, (iv) print and design work, (v) still photography, (vi) video production and (vii) petrol since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his Ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department has spent on pest prevention since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. The amount spent by the Office on maintenance, renovation, council tax and running costs of Government owned official residences assigned to Ministers in the Office by the Prime Minister were £183,000 which includes security and a notional transfer of rent from the Office to the Cabinet Office.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also has the use of Dorneywood, which is a Trust property available for use by Ministers.
	There has been no expenditure on residences for use by officials.

Departmental Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total expenditure was on new buildings and premises by his Department, its predecessors and its agencies in each of the last five years; what square footage of new office space was (a) purchased and (b) newly rented in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The total cost of expenditure on new buildings and premises is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	No new office space was purchased in the period.
	The approximate cost in rental terms of acquiring new accommodation by these figures are the difference in the cost of rental in new accommodation minus of cost of accommodation given up.
	In 1998–99 a saving of £270,000.
	In 1999–2000 a saving of £85,000.
	In 2000–01 a cost of £725,000.
	In 2001–02 costs were balanced by savings.
	In 2002–03 a cost of £2,730,000.
	The cost in 2000–01 reflects relocations from properties at their lease end into one new development. The cost in 2002–03 reflects the effects of relocations, and moves and changes within the Government Estate and is distorted by the short-term acquisition of serviced accommodation.
	The square footage of office space newly rented in each year was as follows:
	
		
			  Sq ft 
		
		
			 1998–99 12,890 
			 1999–2000 16,092 
			 2000–01 112,544 
			 2001–02 31,835 
			 2002–03 107,565 
		
	
	Note:
	These figures do not relate to cost figures as we do not have the figures of old accommodation, which we have given up.

E-mails

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many e-mails (a) he and (b) his junior Ministers have received since May 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Efficiency Savings

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the target is for efficiency savings in 2003–04 expressed (a) in money terms and (b) as a percentage of the Department's expenditure limit.

Yvette Cooper: The administration expenditure limit for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (including Agencies and the Government Offices) takes into account an assumed annual efficiency improvement of 3 per cent., the equivalent of £11.4 million in 2003–04.

Electronic Voting

Tom Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the security of the electronic voting machines provided by Diebold for the pilot project in Manchester.

Phil Hope: In May 2000 two very small-scale pilots were held in Bury and Salford using e-voting kiosks supplied by Trilogy Information Systems. Subsequent to these elections Trilogy Information Systems was acquired by Diebold. No election pilots have been conducted using Diebold e-voting kiosks. The pilots in 2000 took place before the Electoral Commission was created. At this time, Returning Officers were responsible for the procurement and evaluation for individual pilots.

Fire Service

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to bring forward proposals to repeal the fire brigades discipline and promotion regulations.

Nick Raynsford: The White Paper, "Our Fire and Rescue Service", presented to Parliament by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 30 June, announced that the Fire Services (Discipline) Regulations 1985 would be abolished and replaced with framework regulations based on the most up-to-date ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) best practice guidance. It also announced that the Fire Services (Appointments and Promotion Regulations) 1978 would be amended to allow multi-level entry to the fire and rescue service and to support development and promotion opportunities for all fire and rescue service staff through the implementation of the Integrated Personal Development System.
	Work on both these issues is currently underway. Following consultation, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is aiming to introduce the new appointments and promotion regulations early in the new year with changes to the discipline regulations following in early spring. The final content and promulgation of the regulations will, of course, be subject to parliamentary approval.

Foreign Exchange Transactions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many foreign exchange transactions (a) his Ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have undertaken since May 2002; and what the (i) value in sterling and (ii) currency was in each case.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

House Fires

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which housing associations in England have not installed smoke detectors in their housing stock.

Keith Hill: Housing associations in England are required by the Housing Corporation through their Scheme Development Standards to fit smoke alarms in all new homes provided with Social Housing Grant as a condition of funding. Information on the number ofsmoke alarms fitted by individual housing associations to their existing stock is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

House Fires

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many fires occurred in houses in multiple occupation in each year from 1990 to 2003; and how many (a) deaths and (b) injuries resulted from these fires.

Nick Raynsford: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

House Fires

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) injuries and (b) fatalities were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from house fires in (i) houses in multiple occupation, (ii) the rest of the private rented sector, (iii) council housing and (iv) other social housing in England in each of the past 10 years.

Nick Raynsford: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Local Councils (Complaints)

George Stevenson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints were received by the Local Government Ombudsman against local councils over the last five years; and what percentage of those complaints were upheld.

Nick Raynsford: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Local Government Finance

John Stanley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what amount of central government grant per head was paid to each (a) county council and (b) unitary authority in England in the last financial year for which figures are available, excluding grant to police authorities and local education authorities.

Nick Raynsford: Figures for English county councils and unitary authorities are tabled below.
	
		Central Government Grants per head of population for 2003–04
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 City of London 10,490 
			 Camden 1,312 
			 Greenwich 1,246 
			 Hackney 1,526 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,045 
			 Islington 1,593 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 999 
			 Lambeth 1,297 
			 Lewisham 1,223 
			 Southwark 1,418 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,725 
			 Wandsworth 933 
			 Westminster 1,379 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,141 
			 Barnet 770 
			 Bexley 822 
			 Brent 1,089 
			 Bromley 670 
			 Croydon 827 
			 Baling 863 
			 Enfield 952 
			 Haringey 1,348 
			 Harrow 751 
			 Havering 739 
			 Hillingdon 844 
			 Hounslow 902 
			 Kingston upon Thames 661 
			 Merton 710 
			 Newham 1,538 
			 Redbridge 863 
			 Richmond upon Thames 577 
			 Sutton 782 
			 Waltham Forest 1,196 
			 Barnsley 866 
			 Birmingham 1,156 
			 Bolton 896 
			 Bradford 958 
			 Bury 792 
			 Calderdale 852 
			 Coventry 905 
			 Doncaster 880 
			 Dudley 832 
			 Gateshead 1,034 
			 Kirklees 846 
			 Knowsley 1,330 
			 Leeds 812 
			 Liverpool 1,229 
			 Manchester 1,294 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,055 
			 North Tyneside 865 
			 Oldham 989 
			 Rochdale 954 
			 Rotherham 918 
			 Salford 1,028 
			 Sandwell 1,038 
			 Sefton 897 
			 Sheffield 958 
			 Solihull 718 
			 South Tyneside 956 
			 St Helens 867 
			 Stockport 680 
			 Sunderland 1,007 
			 Tameside 913 
			 Trafford 779 
			 Wakefield 820 
			 Walsall 971 
			 Wigan 844 
			 Wirral 931 
			 Wolverhampton 1,005 
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA 653 
			 Blackburn with Darwen UA 1,101 
			 Blackpool UA 980 
			 Bournemouth UA 704 
			 Bracknell Forest UA 624 
			 Brighton and Hove UA 880 
			 Bristol UA 798 
			 City of Nottingham UA 996 
			 Darlington UA 818 
			 Derby City UA 881 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire UA 701 
			 Halton UA 975 
			 HartlepoolUA 1,126 
			 Herefordshire UA 676 
			 Isle of Wight UA 823 
			 Kingston upon Hull UA 1,071 
			 Leicester City UA 1,043 
			 Luton UA 970 
			 Middlesborough UA 1,148 
			 Milton Keynes UA 780 
			 North East Lincolnshire UA 919 
			 North Lincolnshire 830 
			 UA  
			 North Somerset UA 671 
			 Peterborough UA 932 
			 Plymouth UA 896 
			 Poole UA 577 
			 Portsmouth UA 891 
			 Reading UA 729 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 986 
			 UA  
			 Rutland UA 599 
			 Slough UA 975 
			 South Gloucestershire UA 644 
			 Southampton UA 888 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA 906 
			 Stockton-on-Tees UA 910 
			 Stoke-on-Trent UA 913 
			 Swindon UA 724 
			 Telford and the Wrekin UA 819 
			 The Medway Towns UA 802 
			 Thurrock UA 826 
			 Torbay UA 812 
			 Warrington UA 749 
			 West Berkshire UA 648 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead UA 589 
			 Wokingham UA 539 
			 York U A 618 
			 Isles of Stilly 1,392 
			 Bedfordshire 637 
			 Buckinghamshire 558 
			 Cambridgeshire 548 
			 Cheshire 596 
			 Cornwall 653 
			 Cumbria 658 
			 Derbyshire 617 
			 Devon 602 
			 Dorset 519 
			 Durham 721 
			 East Sussex 603 
			 Essex 604 
			 Gloucestershire 575 
			 Hampshire 565 
			 Hertfordshire 631 
			 Kent 691 
			 Lancashire 669 
			 Leicestershire 548 
			 Lincolnshire 634 
			 Norfolk 593 
			 North Yorkshire 622 
			 Northamptonshire 650 
			 Northumberland 675 
			 Nottinghamshire 628 
			 Oxfordshire 582 
			 Shropshire 614 
			 Somerset 607 
			 Staffordshire 601 
			 Suffolk 596 
			 Surrey 504 
			 Warwickshire 562 
			 West Sussex 562 
			 Wiltshire 571 
			 Worcestershire 575

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published.

Yvette Cooper: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Department has not incurred any expenditure on market and opinion research.
	
		
			 Project Aim 
		
		
			 Fire Safety To measure advertising effectiveness 
			   
			 Stakeholder research Stakeholder attitudes to ODPM 
			   
			 NRU and SEU Stakeholder communications 
			   
			 Connection with Communities Public impressions of communications 
			   
			 Elected Regional Assemblies Public awareness 
		
	
	To date results have not been published.
	Further detailed information on other research projects commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) foreign visits, and (b) visits to within the United Kingdom he has made since 1 April; what the cost was to public funds of each trip; who he met; and what gifts were received.

Yvette Cooper: The Government publishes the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. The list for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 was published by the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 482W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.
	In respect of gifts received, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 March 2003, Official Report, column 482W.
	Between 1 April 2003 and 30 August 2003, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister travelled on official business within the United Kingdom visiting Ashford (Kent), Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Castle Bromwich, Chester, Coventry, Doncaster, Edinburgh, Harlow Town, Harrogate, Hastings, Hull, the Lake District, Lancaster, Leicester, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Market Warsop, Moreton-in-Marsh, Newcastle, Peterborough, Sandwell, Southampton, Wakefield and Watford at an average cost of £224 per trip. The information requested on individuals who he met is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Multiple Occupation Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which counties in England (a) have and (b) have not implemented a houses in multiple occupation registration scheme.

Keith Hill: On the basis of the Housing Investment Programme 2003 returns, a total of 202 local authorities in England have adopted houses in multiple occupation registration schemes. These local authorities are listed below:
	Allerdale
	Alnwick
	Arun
	Ashfield
	Ashford
	Aylesbury Vale
	Babergh
	Barking and Dagenham
	Barnet
	Barnsley
	Barrow-in-Furness
	Basildon
	Basingstoke and Deane
	Bexley
	Birmingham
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Bolsover
	Bolton
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Brent
	Bridgnorth
	Brighton and Hove
	Bristol
	Bromley
	Bromsgrove
	Broxtowe
	Burnley
	Bury
	Calderdale
	Cambridge
	Camden
	Cannock Chase
	Canterbury
	Caradon
	Carlisle
	Castle Morpeth
	Castle Point
	Charnwood
	Chelmsford
	Cheltenham
	Cherwell
	Chester
	Chester-le-Street
	Colchester
	Copeland
	Coventry
	Croydon
	Darlington
	Derby
	Doncaster
	Dover
	Ealing
	East Cambridgeshire
	East Dorset
	East Hampshire
	East Northamptonshire
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	Eastbourne
	Enfield
	Erewash
	Fareham
	Forest Heath
	Forest of Dean
	Gateshead
	Gosport
	Gravesham
	Greenwich
	Guildford
	Hackney
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Haringey
	Harlow
	Harrogate
	Harrow
	Hartlepool
	Hastings
	Havant
	Havering
	Herefordshire
	Hertsmere
	Hillingdon
	Hounslow
	Huntingdonshire
	Isles of Scilly
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kettering
	Kings Lynn and West Norfolk
	Kingston upon Hull
	Kingston upon Thames
	Kirklees
	Lambeth
	Lancaster
	Leeds
	Lichfield
	Lincoln
	Luton
	Maidstone
	Malvern Hills
	Mansfield
	Melton
	Mendip
	Mid Bedfordshire
	Mid Devon
	Middlesbrough
	Milton Keynes
	Mole Valley
	New Forest
	Newark and Sherwood
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	Newham
	North Devon
	North East Lincolnshire
	North Hertfordshire
	North Lincolnshire
	North Norfolk
	North Shropshire
	North Somerset
	North Warwickshire
	North Wiltshire
	Nottingham City
	Oldham
	Oxford
	Pendle
	Penwith
	Peterborough
	Portsmouth
	Preston
	Purbeck
	Redbridge
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Redditch
	Rochdale
	Rossendale
	Rother
	Rugby
	Runnymede
	Rushcliffe
	Rushmoor
	Rutland
	Ryedale
	Salford
	Scarborough
	Sheffield
	Shepway
	South Bedfordshire
	South Bucks
	South Derbyshire
	South Gloucestershire
	South Hams
	South Holland
	South Norfolk
	South Ribble
	South Tyneside
	Southampton
	Southend-on-Sea
	Southwark
	St Albans
	St Edmundsbury
	Stafford
	Staffordshire
	Moorlands
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Sunderland
	Surrey Heath
	Sutton
	Swale
	Tameside
	Tamworth
	Tandridge
	Teesdale
	Tendring
	Test Valley
	Tewkesbury
	Thanet
	The Medway Towns
	Torbay
	Torridge
	Tower Hamlets
	Trafford
	Uttlesford
	Walsall
	Waltham Forest
	Wansbeck
	Warrington
	Warwick
	Watford
	Waveney
	Wear Valley
	West Devon
	West Lancashire
	West Oxfordshire
	Westminster
	Weymouth and Portland
	Winchester
	Wirral
	Wokingham
	Wolverhampton
	Wycombe
	Wyre Forest
	York

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschilds since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002 and there have been no contracts with NM Rothschild.

Office Costs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimated cost of running his Departmental office was for each year since it was established, broken down by (a) telephone bills, (b) total staff costs, (c) press and communications, (d) entertainment, (e) alcoholic drinks, (f) non-alcoholic drinks, (g) stationery, (h) office refurbishment and (i) other; and what the estimate for the current year is.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 1 July 2003, Official Report, 260W.
	The estimate cost of running the Deputy Prime Minister's Departmental Private Office for the current year is £408,000.
	All expenditure incurred for running the Deputy Prime Minister's Departmental office is made in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the performance targets that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and if he will specify for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it.

Yvette Cooper: Key performance targets for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are agreed as part of the Spending Review and the latest set were published in Spending Review 2002: Public Service Agreements 2003–06 (Cm 5571). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister monitors progress towards the target along with HM Treasury and PMDU and progress is reported regularly.
	Ministers set the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's executive agencies' key targets for 2003–04. These either were or will be announced to Parliament through written ministerial statements—details are as set out as follows. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister regularly monitors performance against each agency's targets. All of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's agencies publish an Annual Report and Accounts at the end of the financial year, which report on their performance against their targets.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statements on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's agencies' targets as given on:
	13 March 2003, Official Report, column 26WS: The Rent Service
	11 April 2003, Official Report, columns 35–36WS: Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
	11 June 2003, Official Report, columns 47–48WS: Planning Inspectorate
	The Fire Service College's targets are expected to be announced shortly. In addition, while Ordnance Survey is a department in its own right, with executive agency status, it reports to the Ministers of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The statement on its targets for 2003–04 was given on 11 April 2003, Official Report, column 35WS.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister sponsors nine executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs); the Audit Commission, English Partnerships, four Housing Action Trusts (Castle Vale, Liverpool, Stonebridge and Tower Hamlets), the Housing Corporation, the Standards Board for England and Thurrock Urban Development Corporation.
	Performance targets for executive NDPBs sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, including outputs to be achieved, are agreed by Ministers and set out in the published business or corporate plan of the NDPB. Copies of plans are available from the relevant body. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister monitors performance against these targets and progress is discussed with Ministers. The outputs and achievements of each executive NDPB are set out in its annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister sponsors seven advisory NDPBs; the Advisory Panel on Beacon Councils, the Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate, the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, the Community Forum, the Property Advisory Group, the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England and Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales.
	No performance targets are set for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's advisory NDPBs. Each advisory body normally sets its own programme of work for each year within its remit to advise Ministers on the particular policy area and agrees this with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. No formal monitoring of performance takes place for these advisory bodies but outputs are set out in each body's annual report.

Periodicals

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the periodicals that (a) his ministerial office, (b) other ministerial offices within his Department, (c) non-departmental bodies, (d) executive agencies and (e) his Department have subscribed to since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is available in the Library of the House. Weekly newspapers and tabloid-format periodicals that have the appearance of newspapers have been classed as "periodicals" and included in the list available in the Library of the House. The information relates solely to central procurement in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Central. Information for the executive agencies, Non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and the Government offices is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Planning Policy (Renewable Energy)

Harold Best: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the forthcoming review of Planning Policy Guidance Note 22: Renewable Energy will include the consideration of land use planning as a means of reducing the UK's energy demands.

Keith Hill: The Government issued Draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22): "Renewable Energy" for consultation on 5 November. The document sets out the Government's new proposals for the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system. In addition, as promised in the Energy White Paper, this Government is currently examining, together with other government departments, how to bring consideration of the use of renewables and energy efficiency in developments more within the scope of the planning system.

Planning Policy (Renewable Energy)

Harold Best: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the review of Planning Policy Guidance Note 22: Renewable Energy.

Keith Hill: Ministers in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister discussed the review of Planning Policy Guidance note 22: Renewable Energy at the 9 October meeting of the Ministerial Group on the Implementation of the Energy White Paper. This committee is jointly chaired by my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby South and my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister also sought written clearance on the consultation paper from ministerial colleagues. The ministerial activity has, at all stages, been underpinned by official level correspondence, discussions and meetings.

Private Parking Firms

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what regulations exist to ensure transparency in local authority contracts with private parking firms which operate on local authority land.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	Local authority contracts in connection with provision of parking services are subject to the normal public procurement procedures for letting of any contract by an authority.

Rate Support Grant (Kirklees)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) actual and (b) percentage increases in Government Rate Support Grant for Kirklees Metropolitan Council were in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: Revenue Support Grant is only one component of each year's local government settlement, and taken in isolation could give a misleading impression. The annual increases in formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed business rates), adjusted to give a like for like comparison each year, are listed in the table.
	
		
			  Formula grant increase (£ million) Formula grantincrease (percentage) 
		
		
			 1998–99 7.8 3.5 
			 1999–2000 9.7 4.2 
			 2000–01 9.5 3.9 
			 2001–02 8.0 3.2 
			 2002–03 12.8 5.1 
			 2003–04 19.7 7.3 
			 2004–05(32) 15.4 5.3 
		
	
	(32) Provisional

Regional Co-ordination Unit

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many conferences staff of the regional co-ordination unit have attended each year since its establishment; what the cost was in each case; and how many were overseas conferences.

Yvette Cooper: Regional co-ordination unit staff attend a small number of conferences (none overseas) to help fulfil the RCU's role as the corporate centre of the Government Offices in the English Regions. However, the information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regional Co-ordination Unit

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many conferences have been organised by the Regional Co-ordination Unit in each year since it was established; and what the cost was of each.

Yvette Cooper: The Regional Co-ordination Unit organises high-level meetings and a small number of other events involving its 10 sponsor Government Departments and other stakeholders, however, the detailed information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regional Co-ordination Unit

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many publications have been issued by the Regional Co-ordination Unit in each year since its formation; and what the annual cost was.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Regional Resilience Forums

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the core membership of each regional resilience forum is.

Nick Raynsford: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Rural Housing

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons rural allocations have been made by the Housing Corporation to individual local authorities without specifying site location.

Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation normally seeks to allocate funds to registered social landlords for the development of schemes on identified sites. However, experience has shown that some of the rural schemes may not proceed as anticipated due to difficulties in obtaining planning permission and other development matters. To ensure continued delivery of affordable homes in rural areas, the Housing Corporation issues additional rural allocations to enable registered social landlords to bring forward schemes on sites which are identified during the year.

Rural Housing

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many allocations were made to rural housing providers in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 to date.

Keith Hill: In 2002–03 the Housing Corporation approved through its Approved Development Programme 1,579 homes provided by registered social landlords in small rural settlements of 3,000 people or less. In 2003–04, approval has been given for 647 homes in small settlements up to the end of October 2003.

Rural Housing

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many allocations to rural housing schemes were made under transitional arrangements to replace local authority social housing grant in 2002–03.

Keith Hill: The Housing Corporation is currently collating the information requested. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Social Housing

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many social housing properties were (a) vacant and (b) constructed in each London borough in each of the last six years for which figures are available.

Keith Hill: The total numbers of local authority (LA) and registered social landlord (RSL) dwellings that were (a) vacant and (b) constructed in each London borough for each of the last six years are tabled as follows.
	
		(a) Total number of LA and RSL empty homes in London by borough in each of the last six years
		
			  1 April 
			 Local authority 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 559 678 581 784 704 852 
			 Barnet 205 231 274 248 227 259 
			 Bexley 189 143 163 168 163 243 
			 Brent 510 679 526 728 1,059 1,081 
			 Bromley 354 349 448 471 499 515 
			 Camden 508 710 582 531 680 672 
			 City of London 0 12 6 5 2 8 
			 Croydon 327 323 334 368 371 385 
			 Ealing 373 409 455 370 395 450 
			 Enfield 580 703 508 422 338 333 
			 Greenwich 723 721 800 887 821 956 
			 Hackney 1,412 1,753 2,265 2,538 2,769 2,133 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 623 531 618 585 551 696 
			 Haringey 404 445 405 456 691 544 
			 Harrow 131 117 112 92 139 124 
			 Havering 392 342 348 241 259 263 
			 Hillingdon 240 215 174 219 178 204 
			 Hounslow 583 382 350 340 259 232 
			 Islington 728 628 840 1,104 1,432 1,505 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 294 296 327 409 355 467 
			 Kingston upon Thames 110 105 113 102 93 108 
			 Lambeth 1,242 1,403 1,494 1,680 1,758 1,743 
			 Lewisham 1,041 1,172 1,190 1,051 959 1,097 
			 Merton 259 116 139 203 169 139 
			 Newham 754 613 514 516 680 951 
			 Redbridge 202 187 231 421 367 324 
			 Richmond upon Thames 203 165 146 204 221 221 
			 Southwark 1,191 1,367 2,154 1,791 1,700 1,623 
			 Sutton 162 200 133 270 209 158 
			 Tower Hamlets 887 951 1,063 1,302 1,470 1,503 
			 Waltham Forest 259 261 313 389 646 791 
			 Wandsworth 504 488 541 582 647 640 
			 Westminster 602 663 579 650 762 824 
			 London total 16,551 17,358 18,726 20,127 21,573 22,044 
		
	
	Sources:
	ODPM's annual Housing Investment Programme (HIP) returns and the Housing Corporation's annual HAR 10 and Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR).
	
		(b) Total number of LA and RSL new dwellings built in London by borough in each of the last six financial years
		
			 Local authority 2002–03 2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 1997–98 (33) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 15 57 80 18 8 12 
			 Barnet 164 72 168 98 74 56 
			 Bexley 24 27 98 27 19 8 
			 Brent 570 294 251 103 30 1 
			 Bromley(33) 0 9 33 97 28 33 
			 Camden 25 17 256 166 85 42 
			 City of London 0 0 0 21 0 0 
			 Croydon 216 114 77 194 221 132 
			 Baling 144 157 53 125 125 0 
			 Enfield 356 312 344 84 139 42 
			 Greenwich 147 72 147 64 133 48 
			 Hackney 0 84 112 91 112 325 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 27 0 0 23 22 74 
			 Haringey 63 140 59 75 63 20 
			 Harrow 118 8 0 3 5 0 
			 Havering 25 133 28 47 25 8 
			 Hillingdon 214 134 294 137 111 11 
			 Hounslow 84 87 24 0 21 38 
			 Islington(33) 73 5 44 27 65 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 28 11 55 20 41 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 7 4 41 45 2 22 
			 Lambeth(33) 74 58 47 53 117 98 
			 Lewisham 156 264 150 95 167 35 
			 Merton 72 81 51 149 129 0 
			 Newham 0 160 138 120 180 25 
			 Redbridge 33 12 39 39 5 8 
			 Richmond upon Thames 6 28 20 30 8 0 
			 Southwark 30 22 26 13 35 86 
			 Sutton 180 83 161 122 19 26 
			 Tower Hamlets 496 415 131 197 56 171 
			 Waltham Forest 294 83 596 186 577 25 
			 Wandsworth 0 0 3 76 36 8 
			 Westminster 352 243 358 207 113 0 
			 London total(34) 4,329 3,539 4,320 2,934 3,233 4,381 
		
	
	(33) Estimates may be low because of missing returns from boroughs.
	(34) Total includes estimates for missing local authority returns. Figures for boroughs are based on reported data.
	Sources:
	Reported completions in returns to ODPM from local authorities and the National House-Building Council.

Supporting People Programme

Helen Clark: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons the Supporting People programme has been transferred within his Department to the Homelessness Directorate from the Housing and Care Support Division; and if he will make a statement.

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the reasons for the transfer of housing and support under the Supporting People initiative to the Homelessness Directorate.

Yvette Cooper: The transfer was an internal administrative decision to ensure that the appropriate skills and staff resources are invested in the Supporting People Programme.

Television

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) television licences and (b) satellite television subscriptions are held by (i) his ministerial office, (ii) other ministerial offices within his Department, (iii) non-departmental bodies, (iv) executive agencies and (v) his Department; and what the total cost has been in each case since May 2002.

Yvette Cooper: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Unauthorised Camping

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish the responses received to the Managing Unauthorised Camping Operational Guidance consultation paper.

Yvette Cooper: A copy of the responses received to the consultation paper on Managing Unauthorised Camping: Operational Guidance will be made available in the Libraries of the House.
	I will write to my hon. Friend once this has been done.

Unauthorised Camping

Mark Todd: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will publish his response to the Managing Unauthorised Camping Operational Guidance consultation paper.

Yvette Cooper: Arrangements have been made for the analysis of responses to the consultation paper on 'Managing Unauthorised Camping: Operational Guidance', to be available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Website.
	The Guidance will be re-drafted to incorporate comments and will be published early next year.

Wind Farms

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will strengthen the Planning Policy Guidelines to create a presumption against the siting of wind farms in high value landscapes on the perimeter of National Parks.

Yvette Cooper: The Government issued Draft Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22): "Renewable Energy" for consultation on 5 November. The document sets out the Government's new proposals for the handling of all types of renewable energy projects through the planning system Additional safeguards are included for areas of important landscape and environmental sensitivity such as National Parks. However, local planning authorities should not create "buffer zones" around designated areas and apply blanket policies that prevent the development of renewable energy resources. Instead, planning authorities should set criteria based policies in plans to cover all parts of their area, including high value landscapes on the outside of National Parks. These policies should then be used for assessing any planning applications for renewable energy projects that are brought forward by developers.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Ascension Island

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rental contributions were paid by the United States Government to the Government for (a) the use of Wideawake Airport and (b) leasing of land owned by the Government on Ascension Island.

Bill Rammell: Under the 1956 Bahamas Long Range Proving Ground Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States, no rental contributions are paid from the United States to the United Kingdom Government or the Ascension Island Government for the use of Wideawake airfield or for the leasing of land on Ascension Island.

Iraq

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) US authorities and (b) the Coalition Provisional Authority about the establishment in Iraq of a representative body similar to the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan to replace the Iraqi Governing Council.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had frequent meetings with US authorities and representatives of the Coalition Provisional Authority, at which a range of issues relating to Iraq are discussed. The formation of the future government of Iraq is a matter for the Iraqis. On 15 November, Jalal Talabani, President of the Iraqi Governing Council, announces a new plan for establishing a Transitional National Assembly formed through democratic caucus elections at provincial and local levels. At this point, the IGC will dissolve. There will also be an elected Constitutional Convention, leading to full national elections for a new representative Iraqi Government by the end of 2005.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to alter the national flag of the Iraqi state.

Bill Rammell: Any future alterations to the national flag of Iraq would be a matter for the Iraqis.

Iraq

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the coalition administration in Iraq has maintained full income and expenditure accounts in respect of (a) sales of oil generated under the UN Oil for Food programme when it was in operation and (b) subsequent sales of oil on the world market; and if this information will be published.

Bill Rammell: Maintaining accounts of Iraqi oil sales under the United Nations Oil for Food Programme is a matter for the United Nations. Sales of Iraqi oil on to the world market since the liberation of Iraq have been undertaken by the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation, 95 per cent. of revenues from oil sales have been transferred immediately to the Development Fund for Iraq for use in the reconstruction of Iraq, and 5 per cent. has gone to the United Nations Compensation Commission as required under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1483. The accounts of the Development Fund for Iraq are subject to audit by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB), comprising representatives of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations and the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development. The IAMB will make public all reports produced under its terms of reference.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether UN Security Council Resolution 1483 permits the 100 per cent. purchase by foreign companies of all Iraqi economic sectors, excluding only natural resources.

Bill Rammell: Resolution 1483 authorises the Coalition to undertake activities to promote economic reconstruction in Iraq, in co-ordination with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General CPA Order 39 on Foreign Direct Investment permits up to 100 per cent. participation in a new or existing business in Iraq, but does not allow for foreign direct and indirect ownership of the natural resources sector involving primary extraction and initial processing. In addition, this Order does not apply to banks and insurance companies. Foreign direct investment is an important means of promoting employment opportunities and improving social welfare. This Order creates the conditions for much needed capita] to enter the Iraqi economy.
	The Government are therefore satisfied that Security Council Resolution 1483 provides a sound legal basis for the policy goals of the CPA Foreign Investment Order. We have also satisfied ourselves through UK officials working within the CPA, and the office of the UK Special Representative for Iraq that co-ordination with the UN has taken place, in consultation with the International Financial Institutions. The Order was approved by the Governing Council and had the support of the Minister of Finance.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what patrols UK Navy vessels are undertaking to prevent illegal smuggling of oil off the Iraqi coast; what progress has been made in stemming the trade; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: I will write to the right hon. and learned Member and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the method of election of the Government of Iraq.

Bill Rammell: I will write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the conflict in Iraq on the war on terrorism.

Bill Rammell: I will write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Uganda

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the progress made by the Government forces of Uganda against the Lord's Resistance Army; what assessment his Department has made of the probability of a military resolution to the civil war in Uganda; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Efforts by the Ugandan Government forces to defeat the rebel Lord's Resistance Army have so far been unsuccessful. While recognising the need for a security response, our assessment is that a military solution on its own is unlikely. We are encouraging the Government of Uganda to undertake parallel efforts at dialogue to resolve the conflict

Afghanistan

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens captured by Coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2002 remain in detention in Afghanistan.

Mike O'Brien: We know of no British citizens captured by Coalition forces in Afghanistan in 2002, or at any other time since 11 September 2001, who remain in detention in Afghanistan.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department and its predecessor in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Wilton Park Executive Agency has not contracted with Bechtel during this period.

Border Controls

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effects the European Constitution will have on United Kingdom border controls.

Denis MacShane: I will write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Burma

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent action the Government has taken in relation to breaches of (a) human and (b) political rights in Burma.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The UK has made regular representations to the Burmese authorities about the human rights situation in Burma, bilaterally, with our EU partners and at the United Nations. I regularly speak to EU partners and Burma's neighbours to press Burma on human rights issues.
	In addition, the UK co-sponsored a resolution in the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) on 16 April 2003 and will be co-sponsoring a Burma resolution at this year's UN General Assembly concerning the abuse of all human rights in Burma.

Burma

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the United States Government's stance on sanctions against Burma.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 19 November 2003
	Like the US, we believe that pressure on the regime is essential if we are to bring about democracy, national reconciliation, and respect for human rights in Burma.
	With our EU colleagues we are currently discussing what further measures we may take to target those obstructing reform and progress in Burma, while ensuring that the ordinary people of Burma suffer as little as possible.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter to him dated 17 September from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Zubeda Islam.

Chris Mullin: I can confirm that as a result of an administrative error, no reply was sent to my right hon. Friend to his letter to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, of 17 September about Mrs. Zubeda Islam.
	The Foreign Secretary wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 October on this case. I apologise for the delay in replying.

European Constitution

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will lay before Parliament a White Paper reproducing the texts of those proposed articles of the draft EU Constitution which are new and additional to those found within or included in the European treaties already in force, giving for each a statement of purpose and the reasons ministers have for supporting, amending or rejecting each and his assessment of whether each is (a) a new constitutional provision and (b) a tidying up.

Denis MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

General Affairs and External Relations Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the General Affairs and External Relations Council held on 17 November; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The information is as follows:
	Outcome of the 17–18 November general affairs and external relations council
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, the International Development Secretary and I, represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels on 17–18 November.
	Conclusions were agreed on the Western Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, ESDP, Nigeria, the annual report on development policy implementation, Governance and Development, the role of the private sector in developing countries, and the OSCE. An informal Defence Ministerial took place in parallel.
	General affairs session
	Commission work programme for 2004
	The Council took note of the Commission presentation of its legislative and work programme for 2004.
	Progress of work in other council configurations
	The Presidency gave a standard progress report on work in other Councils: Employment/Social Affairs/Health/Consumer Affairs, Justice and Home Affairs and Transport and Telecommunications.
	Preparation of European council (Brussels, 12–13 December)
	The Council examined the Presidency's annotated draft agenda for the 12–13 December European Council. The main issues are:
	Economic growth
	Strengthening the EU's area of freedom, security and justice
	EU enlargement
	External Relations, Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Security and Defence Policy.
	Enlargement
	The Commission presented its monitoring reports on the Accession States' preparations for membership of the European Union and its Strategy Paper and regular reports on progress by Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey towards accession. The Council adopted Conclusions welcoming the progress made so far, while encouraging improved progress on outstanding areas of concern.
	External relations session
	Western Balkans
	The Presidency briefed Member States on Kosovo and the Contact Group's Strategy. The GAERC also agreed that direct dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on practical issues of mutual concern remained vital to fulfil its policy of "standards before status". EU-Russia
	The Presidency de-briefed on the outcome of the 6 November EU-Russia Summit. Ministers agreed on the need to identify the core elements and priorities for the EU's relationship with Russia and to discuss the matter again early in the new year.
	Iraq
	There was a brief discussion of follow-up to the Madrid Donor conference (23–24 October). Partners welcomed the announcement of an accelerated transfer of power to the Iraqis and reiterated the European Union's resolve to contribute to the political as well as economic reconstruction of Iraq.
	Iran
	Ministers discussed the nuclear situation in Iran following the Iranian declaration on signature, ratification and immediate application of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Additional Protocol. The Council agreed that EU members of the IAEA Board of Governors should pursue a common approach at the Board's 20 November meeting. The GAERC tasked Political Directors to take this forward.
	Middle east peace process
	The Council discussed its approach ahead of the EU/Israel Association Council later that day.
	Afghanistan
	Commissioner Patten reported on the 19 October Troika visit to Afghanistan. The Council restated the EU's commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and called for free and fair elections to be held next year in order to conclude the road map devised by the Bonn Agreement, The GAERC offered EU assistance with these elections.
	The Council also welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 1510 authorising the NATO-led ISAF mission to operate outside the area of Kabul. Member States were considering how to take part in the establishment of Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
	Joint session with Defence Ministers
	The Presidency briefed on the Defence Ministers' discussions earlier that day: this included talks on operations, EU defence capabilities, EU-NATO, and counter-terrorism. Conclusions were agreed on the European Security and Defence Policy and the Capabilities Agency.
	EU-Africa
	The Presidency and Commission reported on the recent EU-Africa Ministerial Troika (10 November).
	WMD
	The Presidency set out the progress made in implementing the WMD Action Plan agreed at the Thessaloniki European Council in May. This Included: an EU Common Position on the universalisation of non-proliferation instruments; mainstreaming of WMD concerns in EU relations with third countries; further work on EU export controls; and improved EU co-ordination in international fora. Conclusions were adopted highlighting the positive results achieved so far. AOB: OSCE ministerial
	The Netherlands, as OSCE Chairman in Office for 2003, briefed colleagues on developments on Moldova and Belarus.
	Annual report 2003 on development policy implementation
	The council held a debate on the Commission's report on the Community's development co-operation policy and the implementation of the EU's external assistance in 2002. Conclusions were agreed.
	Creation of African Peace facility
	The Council approved a draft Decision (to be adopted by the ACP-EC Council of Ministers) on the use of European Development Fund resources for the creation of a Peace Facility for Africa.
	Governance and development
	The Council held a brief discussion (and agreed conclusions) on a communication from the Commission on the EU's strategy in support of better governance in developing countries.
	Cotton production in Africa
	The Council held a discussion on the problematic situation of the four major cotton producer countries in Africa. The Council invited the Commission to examine the situation in depth and to inform the Council accordingly-

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart regarding Gibraltar in the last 12 months.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had a number of discussions with his Spanish counterpart on a range of issues in the last 12 months; the focus has not been Gibraltar.

Guantanamo Bay

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the meetings his Department has had with US officials and representatives in the last 12 months at which the issue of the Guantanamo Bay detainees has been formally raised.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 19 November 2003
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials have had regular discussions with the United States authorities in the last 12 months about the British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay. The Government does not consider it appropriate to disclose detailed information about the dates of such negotiations since it would undermine the confidential nature of these diplomatic communications.
	However, the Government's frequent contacts with my right hon. Friend the US Administration on this issue have included discussions between the Prime Minister and the US President and between UK and US Ministers, senior officials and lawyers. Since July, the Attorney General has led the UK in detailed discussions with the US Administration to resolve the position of all the British detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

Indonesia

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a permanent secretary or under-secretary in his Department has visited Indonesia since 1973; and what the purpose was of each visit.

Mike O'Brien: pursuant to my answer, 22 October 2003, Official Report, c. 615–16W
	An administrative error occurred in my answer of 22 October. The correct answer should read as follows:
	4–5 July 2000 Permanent Secretary, to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues.
	12–16 September 2000 Director General (Deputy Under Secretary) Wider World, familiarisation and to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues.
	22–24 November 2000 Group Chief Executive (Permanent Secretary equivalent), British Trade International (a joint DTI/FCO Department), to discuss trade and investment issues.
	30 July-3 August 2001 Director (Assistant Under Secretary) Asia/Pacific, to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues.
	12–14 December 2001 Permanent Secretary (designate), as part of a programme of visits to familiarise himself with as many overseas posts as possible.
	4–5 July 2002 Director (Assistant Under Secretary) Economic, to discuss economic and trade policy issues.
	7–10 January 2003 Director (Assistant Under Secretary) Asia/Pacific, accompanying my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on his visit to Indonesia.
	14 May 2003 Director (Assistant Under Secretary) Asia/Pacific (designate), to attend an ASEM senior officials meeting.
	21–25 July 2003 Director (Assistant Under Secretary) Asia/Pacific, accompanying the Minister to the ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting.
	I regret that compiling the information requested for 1973–99 would involve disproportionate effort.

Iran

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) members of his Department have had with representatives of the Russian Government on recent developments in Russian-Iranian negotiations concerning the repatriation of spent nuclear fuel; what impact an agreement will have on UK policy toward Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: This issue was most recently addressed in a wide-ranging discussion which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had with the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
	Every opportunity is used to raise our concerns, both in ministerial and official contacts, about the negotiations between Russia and Iran on the return of spent nuclear fuel.

Iran

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with Iran about bi-lateral relations.

Bill Rammell: Ministers are in regular contact with Iranian leaders. The Foreign Secretary visited Tehran most recently on 21 October. Our policy towards Iran is one of constructive but critical engagement. We support reform in Iran, while continuing a robust dialogue on matters of concern such as Iran's nuclear programme, and policies on human rights, terrorism and the Middle East Peace Process.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the two UN working groups referred to in his 2003 Human Rights Report as planning visits to Iran to make them.

Bill Rammell: The UN Human Rights Commission's Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression visited Iran from 4–11 November The visit of the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances is currently scheduled for February 2004.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response the Government of Iran has made to the recommendations of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.

Bill Rammell: The Government of Iran has so far offered no formal or public reply to the recommendations of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the EU to evaluate the outcome of the dialogue with Iran on improving human rights; and what assessment he has made of changes since the publication of his Department's Human Rights Report 2003.

Bill Rammell: The EU regularly evaluates progress on the EU/Iran Human Rights Dialogue at both ministerial and official levels. At the October 2003 General Affairs and External Relations Council, EU Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their concern "about the human rights situation in Iran, including violations of civil and political rights, in particular the freedom of expression and the freedom of association, and systematic discrimination against women and girls, as well as against minorities". In the period since the FCO Human Rights Report was drafted, we assess that there has been some deterioration in the overall human rights situation in Iran.

Israel

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will condemn (a) the Palestinian organisations engaged in suicide bombings of Israeli civilians and (b) the excessive use of force by the Government of Israel against Palestinians.

Bill Rammell: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published.

Bill Rammell: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: I will write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Middle East

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment the Government has made of the impact of the Israel Defense Forces Order Concerning Security Directives (Judea and Samaria) (No.378), 1970 Declaration Concerning Closing of Area Number s/2/03 (seam area) (Judea and Samaria) on (a) the Palestinian population of the area between the Green Line and the separation wall and (b) the prospects for a future Palestinian state to include the territory between the Green Line and the separation wall; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Initial reporting by the UN and other organisations indicates that the designation of a "Closed Zone" between the fence and the Green Line is severely hampering Palestinian daily life. Permits, issued by the Israeli authorities, are required for those Palestinians who live and work on land now designated as part of the Closed Zone.
	We are concerned that a system of permits will not meet the legitimate needs of affected Palestinians. Other permit systems operated by the Israel Defence Forces can be unaccountable, inconsistent, unappealable and lack transparency. We understand that a number of permanent residents and Palestinians who work in the Closed Zone have been refused permits. Some permanent residents have received permits which are only valid for a limited period of time, and access for vehicles has been limited.
	The effect has been to curtail the ability of Palestinians in the Closed Zone to travel and to access basic services. It has also hindered the cultivation and harvest of crops, and the care of livestock in this area. The designation of a Closed Zone is contributing to an already acute humanitarian situation. Staff from the ebassy and Consulate-General visited parts of the Closed Zone on 13 November to see the effect on Palestinians in the area.
	We understand Israel's need to take steps, within international law, to protect itself from terrorist attack. But unilateral measures, such as the fence, will not provide lasting security. We are deeply concerned by the route taken by the fence, Its construction on occupied territory creates a further physical obstacle to a two-state solution. We have called on both sides not to take actions which pre-empt a final agreement.
	My noble Friend, the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, raised our concerns about the Closed Zone between the fence and the Green Line on 22 October with the Israeli ambassador, and on 29 October with the Israeli Minister for National Infrastructure.

Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has received from the American Administration in support of their claim that they have the right to try Moazzam Begg and Feroz Abbasi as combatants; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The US authorities have made clear their view that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are being held as enemy combatants. The question of the legal status of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay under international law depends on the facts relating to each individual detainee. The US, as the detaining power, has access to that information and in the first instance, the question of the status of the detainees is a matter for them.
	Mr. Begg and Mr. Abbasi have been designated as eligible for Military Commissions, but have not yet been charged. Proceedings against them have been suspended pending the outcome of discussions between the British and US Governments.

Kenny Richey

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with US counterparts before the vote in the UN Security Council on the resolution condemning the building by Israel of the security wall in parts of the Occupied Territories; and for what reasons the UK decided to abstain in the vote.

Bill Rammell: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Library of the House.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild since 1997.

Bill Rammell: NM Rothschild was engaged in 1997 to provide consultancy advice on PFI options for a BBC World Service project to construct a relay station in Oman. The value of the contract was £88,125.

North Korea

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken (a) to try to prevent North Korea from acquiring a nuclear weapon manufacturing capability, (b) to encourage the opening up of personal and transport communications between the peoples of North and South Korea and (c) to reduce human rights violations in North Korea.

Bill Rammell: The Government continue to raise their concerns about North Korea's nuclear programmes directly with the DPRK authorities and encourages international efforts to resolve the issue peacefully. We support all efforts to improve the quality of communication between North and South Korea, and regularly urge DPRK to comply with the resolution adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights earlier this year.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to encourage amendments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to enable (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Israel to be admitted as nuclear states.

Denis MacShane: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment (a) he and (b) his officials have made of the relevance to United Kingdom policies on non-proliferation of the study on disarmament and non-proliferation education study series number 30 (2003), produced by the United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs for the United Nations Secretary General.

Denis MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Weapons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent report of the International Atomic Energy Authority on whether the Government of Iran has been proved to be holding (a) enriched uranium and (b) plutonium for the purposes of a nuclear weapons programme.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The report of the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency is confidential to the Agency's Board of Governors, who will discuss it at their next meeting on 20 November. I would not wish to pre-empt their discussions by making public statements about the report at this time.

Nuclear Weapons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the (a) US Administration and (b) UN representatives on the implications of the recent International Atomic Energy Authority Report on Iran.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The Government have been engaged in intensive discussion with the US Administration, our EU partners and others about the report, We have worked closely with a range of partners on drafting a Resolution on Iran for discussion at the next meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 20 November.

Oil Sales (Iraq)

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) expenditure on and (b) revenues generated by the sale of Iraqi oil on the world market since 1 May; and what projections have been made for the period from 1 November to 1 May 2004.

Stephen Timms: According to the Coalition Provisional Authority, to date $2.009 billion has been paid to the Development Fund for Iraq from the sale of oil since the conflict ended.
	The Iraqi budget for 2004 includes a forecast of $12 billion for oil revenues. There is no available monthly breakdown.
	The rehabilitation of the Iraqi oil industry is being undertaken and financed by the US government through The US Army Corps of Engineers. There is no detail on expenditure on post conflict rehabilitation projects available at this time.

Pakistan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan about its human rights record.

Mike O'Brien: On 4 November my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Kasuri. One of the topics discussed was the issue of human rights in Pakistan. With our EU partners we regularly engage the Pakistani authorities on Human Rights issues. On 7 February 2003 EU member states delivered a comprehensive demarche underlining their concerns on a wide range of human rights related issues. These concerns were reiterated on 23 June 2003.

Pakistan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) European Union member states and (b) other governments in connection with human rights in Pakistan.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions on Pakistan with his counterparts in EU and other governments. Issues related to human rights are raised frequently.

Pakistan

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of restrictions by the Pakistani Government on the freedom of movement of Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance; and if he will raise the matter with the High Commissioner of Pakistan.

Mike O'Brien: On 14 October Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance was placed on the Pakistan Interior Ministry's Exit Control List for reasons of national security. This means that Mr. Bhatti is restricted from leaving Pakistan. We understand that Mr. Bhatti has made a formal complaint to the Interior Ministry. Together with our EU colleagues we will be raising our concerns that this might be discriminatory use of the Exit Control List with the Government of Pakistan.

Russian Federation

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Russian federation authorities (a) do not extradite persons to any country where they would be at risk of the death penalty, torture or proceedings that fail to meet international fair trial standards, (b) immediately authorise the full publication of reports and recommendations made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, (c) amend the law to combat terrorism to establish clear operational lines of accountability in anti-terrorist operations and ensure that those responsible for violating human rights in the context of such operations should be brought to justice and (d) adopt a law the primary concern of which is the best interests of children with mental disability.

Bill Rammell: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Saudi Arabia

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the security (a) advice and (b) protection offered to employees of the British Council working in Saudi Arabia.

Bill Rammell: The safety of staff and visitors is of paramount importance to the British Council. Their Security Committee in London meets regularly, and reviewed security arrangements for British Council operations in Saudi Arabia on 13 November.
	The British Council's Security Adviser visited Saudi Arabia immediately following the 12 May terrorist attacks in Riyadh and reviewed security measures at British Council offices and staff accommodation throughout the country. His recommendations were fully implemented. A further security review is currently taking place.
	The Director of the British Council in Riyadh is Cultural Attaché at the British embassy. The Embassy maintains close and regular contact with him and with his staff throughout the country, including through the Consulate General in Jedda and the British Trade Office in Al Khobar. In addition, the Embassy and its officers in Saudi Arabia raise security-related issues with the Saudi authorities on behalf of the British Council.
	The Director of the British Council communicates to his staff the conclusions of security reviews and other advice related to security. All employees of the British Council in Saudi Arabia have access to the same advice as the FCO gives to all other British nationals, communicated through the FCO website and notes to or meetings with the community In our advice, we make clear that after the attack against the Muhayya residential compound in Riyadh on 9 November, we continue to believe terrorists are planning further attacks. We advise British nationals to take all necessary steps to protect their safety and make sure they have confidence in their individual security arrangements. We further advise British nationals to maintain a high level of vigilance, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. They are advised to follow news reports and be alert to regional developments. We keep this advice under close review and up-date it regularly. The advice is available in full on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

Somalia

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the facilities in Nairobi for Somalians applying for entry clearance in to the UK; and what plans he has to change the facilities.

Chris Mullin: Our Visa Section at the High Commission in Nairobi is still unable to accept applications from Somali applicants without recognised identity documents. I recognise this problem and recently discussed it with staff at the High Commission during my visit to Nairobi in October.
	As a response to a specific threat at our High Commission in December 2002 security restrictions were introduced affecting personal callers wishing to enter the High Commission compound. In line with these restrictions the Visa Section is still only able to accept applications for entry clearance from those who hold appropriate documentation confirming their nationality and identity. I recognise that these restrictions cause particular difficulties to Somali applicants, We are looking at ways to resolve this.

Sri Lanka

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what reports he has received from representatives of the UK Government in Sri Lanka concerning (a) President Chandrika Kumaratunga's declaration of a state of emergency on 5 November; and (b) Mrs. Kumaratunga's dismissal of the Sri Lankan Defence, Interior and Media Ministers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when his Department will assess the impact of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga's declaration of a state of emergency on 5 November on the Sri Lankan peace process; what discussions he has had with (a) President Chandrika Kumaratunga, (b) Colonel Sumedha Perera, (c) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, (d) representatives and members of the Government of India and (e) representatives and members of the Government of Japan; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In my press statement on 6 November I said that we were following developments in Sri Lanka with increasing anxiety. A copy of the press release is available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk/policy/news-press-releases. We have noted subsequent developments but remain particularly concerned for a speedy resumption of dialogue in a complex peace process. The UK strongly supports the peace process and hopes that the Sri Lankan President and Government will be able to resolve the current political uncertainties in a spirit of common commitment to the peace process.
	Representatives of the British High Commission in Colombo meet regularly with Government and donor representatives. In the week beginning 3 November, the High Commissioner has met the President and a senior Government Minister and spoke to the Prime Minister; High Commission officials have met with representatives of the Indian and Japanese Governments and have spoken with representatives of the military.

Sri Lanka

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Sri Lanka.

Mike O'Brien: We welcome the reportedly cordial meeting between the President and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on 12 November, and their decision to continue dialogue with all parties concerned and to meet again next week. It is most important that they quickly agree on how the peace process will again be taken forward. We also welcome the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's continuing commitment to the peace process and ceasefire agreement. The continuing political uncertainties must not be allowed to jeopardise that process.

Sri Lanka

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the declaration of a state of emergency in Sri Lanka and its effects on the civil rights of Sri Lankan citizens.

Mike O'Brien: The state of emergency in Sri Lanka, declared on 5 November, was lifted on 7 November, before the official gazette notification had been issued, and before any action had been taken by the President under emergency powers. The civil rights of Sri Lankan citizens were not adversely affected by the state of emergency.

Thailand

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Thai authorities about Dr. Cynthia Maung's clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border.

Mike O'Brien: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Thailand

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has held with the Thai authorities on delivery by non-governmental organisations of cross-border aid relief to internally displaced people in Burma;
	(2)  what recent representations he has made to the Thai authorities about access for Burmese refugees to refugee camps in Thailand.

Mike O'Brien: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Tibet

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to secure the release of the Tibetan religious leader, Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, from prison in China.

Bill Rammell: We have raised the case of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche with the Chinese authorities on a number of occasions. At the latest round of the biannual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue held in Beijing on 10–11 November the Chinese again confirmed that he had appealed against his original sentence (death sentence with two year suspension) but that the original verdict had been upheld. We also raised our concerns about his welfare and medical treatment.

Treaty Ratification

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests the Government will make to the Crown prior to the introduction of a Bill relating to the ratification of a treaty consequent upon a final draft text of a constitution for the European Union; what requests were made to the Crown in respect of previous Bills necessary for ratification of treaties; and what replies were received.

Denis MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

UN Arms Embargoes

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 September 2003, Official Report, column 681W, if he will (a) commission a report on the impact of traditional tribal demarcations on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes; and if he will (b) discuss the matter with NGOs.

Bill Rammell: The Government have no plans to commission a report on the impact of traditional tribal demarcations on the effectiveness of UN arms embargoes; and have no plans to discuss the matter with NGOs.

UN Sanctions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1118W, on UN sanctions, what progress the Government have made in considering whether or not to re-initiate proposals for an independent sanctions monitoring mechanism.

Bill Rammell: The UK and France floated informally our proposal for a semi-permanent monitoring mechanism on sanctions in the context of discussions within a Working Group of the Security Council which met in 2000 and 2001 to consider various aspects of UN sanctions regimes. Unfortunately our proposal failed to generate sufficient support among other members of the Security Council. We will consider whether to revive the proposal in 2004, when we have informally canvassed the views of the new members of the Council.

Visas

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the visa fees were for (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) up to August 2003.

Chris Mullin: The fees charged by Visa Sections worldwide for entry clearance are detailed in the following table. The fees charged to visa applicants remained unchanged from 1997 until they were increased in July 2002. There have been no increases since. Both sets of fees are detailed.
	
		£
		
			  1997 (35) 1 July 2002 (36) 
		
		
			 Entry Clearance for a Commonwealth Country 20 22 
			 Entry clearance for an overseas territory 20 22 
			 Direct airside transit 25 27 
			 Visit (standard) 33 36 
			 Visit (multiple entry) one year 55 60 
			 Visit (multiple entry) two years 65 70 
			 Visit (multiple entry) five years 80 88 
			 Visit (multiple entry) 10 years(37) — 150 
			 Settlement 240 260 
			 Marriage 240 260 
			 Long-term 50 75 
			 Certificate of entitlement 100 110 
		
	
	(35) To June 2002.
	(36) To present.
	(37) 10 year multiple entry visit visas were introduced on 1 July 2002

Visas

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the geographical validity of European Union visas will become a matter for qualified majority voting under the European constitution.

Denis MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Visas

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether European visas issued by the consulates of other member states will be valid for entry to the UK under the European constitution.

Denis MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Working Holidays

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 29 October 2003, Official Report, column 277W, on working holidaymakers, if he will break down by country of origin the numbers of applications (a) received, (b) issued, (c) refused and (d) outstanding for visas for working holidays.

Chris Mullin: I have placed in the Library of the House figures of the working holidaymaker visa applications received, issued and refused in the financial year 2002–03 by our entry clearance posts.

TREASURY

Civil Registration

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the reasons for ending face to face civil registration services; and what plans he has to retrain registrars for their new remote role;
	(2)  what procedures will be put in place to prevent fraud after the move to remote civil registration;
	(3)  what plans he has to compensate local authorities for any funding shortfall arising from the move to remote civil registration;
	(4)  what assessment has been made of the risk of competition between local authorities following a move to remote registration.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Drew, dated 20 November 2003
	As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your four recent questions on the move to remote civil registration. (140260, 140262, 140263, 140264)
	In January 2002, the White Paper 'Civil Registration: Vital Change' was published which set out the Government's intention to reform the civil registration service. The White Paper offers the public a choice in how to register births and deaths in person (at any Register Office), by telephone or via the internet.
	These proposals appear in more detail in the consultation document 'Civil Registration: Delivering Vital Change' which was published in July 2003. The document can be downloaded from the General Register Office website at: http://www. statistics.gov.uk/registration/whitepaper/default.asp
	The document is the first stage in the use of the order-making powers of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001. This is being used to bring about the legislative changes that are needed to implement the White Paper reforms. The consultation period ended on 24 October. Currently the responses are being analysed.
	It would be inappropriate at this stage to comment on the final shape of the proposals to be included in the Regulatory Reform Order. Issues such as funding, retraining and security are being fully considered during the passage of the civil registration regulatory reform order and, in the event of legislation change, prior to implementation.

Economic Activity (Airdrie and Shotts)

Helen Liddell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the economic activity rate in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency was in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 1997;
	(2)  what the employment rate in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency was in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 1997;
	(3)  what the rate of (a) unemployment, (b) long-term unemployment and (c) youth unemployment in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency was in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 1997; and how many individuals this represented in each case.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mrs Helen Liddell, dated 20 November 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about economic activity, employment and unemployment rates in Airdrie and Shotts constituency. I am replying in his absence. (140371, 140372, 140373)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of economic activity, employment and unemployment from the Labour Force survey (LFS) following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1 gives estimates of economic activity and employment rates in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency for the twelve month periods ending February 1998 and February 2002. These estimates are from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) annual local area databases. Comparable information for the twelve month period ending February 2003 is not yet available. The LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary constituencies.
	Table 2 gives, for the periods specified, the total number of JSA claimants, the number of those claiming JSA for over 12 months, and the number of claimants aged 18–24 in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency. Claimant count rates for local areas are expressed as proportions of the 2001 mid-year working-age population estimates which are based on the 2001 Census, following the withdrawal from National Statistics in January 2003 of the previous workplace based rates. Table 2 shows the rates, on this basis, for the Airdrie and Shotts Constituency.
	
		Table 1 Working age(38) economic activity and employment rates Airdrie and Shotts constituency -- Percentage
		
			 March to February Economicactivity rate(39) Employmentrate(40) 
		
		
			 1997–98 73.3 66.0 
			 2001–02 67.7 56.8 
		
	
	(38) Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59
	(39) Economically active people of wording age as a percentage of the working age population
	(40) Employed people of working age as a percentage of the working age population
	Note:
	These LFS estimates have not been adjusted to reflect the 2001 Census results
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey
	
		Table 2 -- People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency
		
			  Total Long-term(42) Aged 18–24 
			  Number Rate(41) (Percentage) Number Number 
		
		
			 Average January to December 1997 2,887 5.9 851 903 
			 Average April 2002 to March 2003 1,902 3.9 239 528 
		
	
	(41) People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance as a percentage of the mid-2001 working age population estimate, based on the 2001 Census
	(42) People claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for over 12 months

Air Passenger Taxes

Roy Beggs: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue was raised from air passenger taxes in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information is not available in the format requested. Revenue figures for air passenger duty are collected for the UK as a whole and are not broken down by devolved region. Air passenger revenue duty receipts for the UK as a whole are published in table 1.20 of Financial Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics.

Household Incomes

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the average weekly income of households in each council tax band.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 20 November 2003
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for the average weekly income of households in each council tax band. (140006)
	Estimates in the following table are based on the analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income 2001–02" produced by the Office for National Statistics and published on 21 October 2003 on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits.
	The analysis includes measures of income inequality for the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey (EPS), formerly the Family Expenditure Survey (FES). This is a sample survey covering about 7,500 households in the UK and sample sizes for each council tax band are only sufficient to give approximate estimates. The Family Resources Survey would have been an alternative source with a larger sample size, but the taxes and benefits analysis has been used for consistency with answers to other recent parliamentary questions.
	The table shows the average weekly gross income received by households in Great Britain in houses in each council tax band. Council tax is not paid in Northern Ireland. The sample size is only sufficient to allow a breakdown to be given for households living in bands G and H combined. A small number of households in properties which did not have a separate council tax valuation have been excluded from the analysis. Gross income includes income from earnings, occupational pensions and investments and cash benefits such as state retirement pensions and income support. It does not take account of deductions for taxes.
	
		Average weekly gross income of households in each council tax band for Great Britain, 2001–02 -- £ per week
		
			 Council Tax band Average weekly gross income 
		
		
			 A 310 
			 B 430 
			 C 520 
			 D 650 
			 E 770 
			 F 930 
			 G and H 1,460 
		
	
	Source:Office for National Statistics, based on the analysis 'The effects of taxes and benefits on household income'.

Aviation Kerosene taxation

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the cost of not taxing aviation kerosene in financial year 2002–03.

John Healey: Aviation turbine fuel (AVTUR), is a heavy hydrocarbon oil used in virtually all aircraft on scheduled flights within the UK, and the majority of international commercial flights.
	Although AVTUR is not currently taxed, the UK recognises that there is a case for taxing fuel used in international aviation and supports action through the International Civil Aviation Organisation to remove the current worldwide exemption.
	Assuming no decrease in demand from a higher fuel price, levying duty on 2002–03 quantities of aviation turbine fuel would have raised the following amounts of revenue:
	
		£ billion
		
			 Duty levied Revenue raised 
		
		
			 If the rebated kerosene duty rate were levied 0.4 
			 If the ULSD duty rate were levied 5.8 
			 If the heavy diesel duty rate were levied 6.6

Child Support Agency

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what re-examination of the Office of Government Commerce Gateway review process he has undertaken as a result of the implementation of the Child Support Agency's reform programme.

Paul Boateng: There has been no re-examination of the OGC Gateway Review Process as a direct result of the implementation of the Child Support Agency's reform programme.

Child Trust Fund

Helen Liddell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of families in Airdrie and Shotts constituency who will benefit from the Child Trust Fund.

Ruth Kelly: All children born since 1 September 2002 in families awarded Child Benefit will receive a Child Trust Fund (CTF). Based on census data for children under five living in the constituency of Airdrie and Shotts, about 900 children a year will benefit from the initial endowment. As an indication of the eventual position, 9,870 families were receiving Child Benefit for 16,585 children as at 30 November 2002, in the constituency of Airdrie and Shotts
	The CTF is intended to encourage parents and children to develop the savings habit. It will ensure that every child, whatever their family background, will have access at the age of 18 when they begin their adult life, to a stock of assets which they can invest in their future.
	It will also help children and their parents to understand the benefits of saving and investment and how to engage with financial institutions.

Customs and Excise

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the cost was of specialist asset recovery teams in Customs and Excise used for the recovery of assets from directors involved in fraudulent companies in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; how many staff were deployed in these teams in (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03; and what assets were realised by these teams in (A) 2001–02 and (B) 2002–03;
	(2)  how many staff were employed in Customs and Excise debt management units in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; and how many new staff were recruited in (i) 2001–02 and (ii) 2002–03;
	(3)  if he will set out the Customs and Excise National Standards time limits for handling recoverable debt cases; and what the outturn against target was of debt management units in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03;
	(4)  how much debt was owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on 31 March (a) in total and (b) broken down by type of debt; how much debt was owed as a percentage of the total amount of taxes and duties collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise; and what the change was in the number of unresolved debts between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003;
	(5)  what the value of new debt owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise notified to the debt management units in 2002–03 is; and how much of that new debt was represented by VAT missing trader fraud;
	(6)  how much missing trader fraud debt owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise was outstanding at the end of 2002–03.

John Healey: 20 staff were employed in Customs' asset recovery teams in 2001–02 and 25 in 2002–03. They secured £23.5 million in assets in 2001–02 and £17.8 million in 2002–03. It is not possible to identify the overall cost of operating these teams. 929 staff were employed in debt management in Customs in 2001–02 and 892 in 2002–03. This includes staff involved in security, insolvency, civil recovery and other debt management work outside the debt management units. There was turnover of staff within these figures, with individuals moving into and out of the function, but it is not possible to identify the number of new staff recruited in those years.
	The National Standards for debt management did not include timescales for handling recoverable debt in either 2001–02 or 2002–03. Current standards require a positive outcome on recoverable debt within three months for first time and occasional defaulters, or six months for persistent defaulters recruited in those years.
	Total debt owed to Customs at the end of the 2002–03 accounting period was £2,311 million. This was 1.5 per cent. of the total amount of taxes and duties collected by Customs, and included £1,159 million suspended debt and £1,152 million recoverable debt. The number of unresolved debts was not measured in 2001–02, but Customs had 344,983 cases on hand at the end of the 2002–03 accounting period.
	During 2002–03 £4,974 million in new debt was advised to debt management units. Of this £824 million resulted from MTIC fraud, although some of this figure related to cases opened in previous years.
	At the end of 2002–03 £546 million in missing trader fraud debt was still owed to Customs.

Customs and Excise

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were deployed by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to tackle VAT missing trader fraud in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03; what the cost of deploying such staff was in each case; and what other costs there were in pursuing the VAT missing trader fraud strategy in each case.

John Healey: The number of staff deployed to tackle VAT missing trader fraud can be found in "Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud" (November 2001), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	The figure for 2002–03 will be published later this year.
	Customs does not maintain information about the costs in the format requested and it could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Customs and Excise

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 November 2003, Official Report, column. 800W, with regard to Customs, whether the prohibited firearm was (a) produced to Customs from (i) the person and (ii) baggage, (b) loaded with ammunition and (c) ready to fire; for how long Customs exercised their control over the firearm; and by what means it left the United Kingdom.

John Healey: The records still available show that the importation referred to in my earlier answer was correctly declared in accordance with established regulations and procedures, and that there were no irregularities.
	Some of Customs' records relating to regulatory controls on importations of firearms at Farnborough in 1999 have been destroyed under Customs' obligations in relation to the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Public Records Acts, as they relate to legitimate movements and are no longer required for administrative purposes. Following further investigation of the remaining records, I have now been informed that the single importation referred to in my previous answer related to four firearms and a quantity of ammunition, rather than a single firearm, and I regret that inadvertently this was not made clear to the hon. Gentleman. These firearms were surrendered by one or more passengers on a flight which arrived at Farnborough in March 1999.
	The additional information requested is no longer available, and Customs cannot say with certainty how the items were taken into control, how long the firearms were in Customs' control or how and when they were re-exported from the United Kingdom.

Financial Services Authority

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the membership of the Financial Services Authority Financial Capability Steering Group is.

Ruth Kelly: The membership of the Financial Services Authority Financial Capability Steering Group has been published in an FSA press notice issued on the 20 October 2003 and is as follows:
	John Tiner, Chief Executive, Financial Services Authority (Chairman)
	Luqman Arnold, Chief Executive, Abbey National plc
	David Clementi, Chairman, Prudential plc
	John Gummer, Chairman, Association of Independent Financial Advisers
	David Marker, Chief Executive, Citizen's Advice
	Deirdre Mutton, Chair, National Consumer Council
	Digby Jones, Director General, Confederation of British Industry
	Ruth Kelly, Financial Secretary to the Treasury; and Ron Sandier, chairman, Personal Finance Education Group
	Media figure to be announced shortly.

Income Tax

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to how many people the 10 pence tax rate has applied in each constituency since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: All income tax payers benefit from the 10 pence starting rate. It would be possible to provide a reliable breakdown by constituency only at disproportionate cost.

Inland Revenue

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who set the criteria for payment of performance-related pay to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue regarding the duties they have had with respect to Project ASPIRE and its antecedents in the period 1999–2000 to 2002–03.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the pay arrangements common to all members of the Senior Civil Service, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue individually agree their performance criteria with the Chairman. The Chairman agrees his performance criteria with the Permanent Secretaries Remuneration Committee.

Inland Revenue

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total budget approved for the market-making exercise in support of Project ASPIRE was in each year from 2000–01 to 2002–03; and what the actual expenditure recorded against budget was in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: Expenditure on the market making exercise fell only in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 financial years. No separate budget was allocated to the Market-making exercise, which was funded as part of the general budget for the ASPIRE project.

Inland Revenue

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Sir Nicholas Montagu KCB took the Chair of the Superintending Group overseeing Project ASPIRE; who Sir Nicholas's predecessors in that role had been since 1997; and when each took office.

Dawn Primarolo: The ASPIRE Project formally commenced on 31 October 2001. The first meeting of the ASPIRE Superintending Group was held on 5 February 2002. Initially, the Superintending Group was chaired by Tim Flesher who was, at that time, the Deputy Chairman of the Inland Revenue. When he moved to a new post in another Government Department, Sir Nicholas Montagu KCB replaced him. Sir Nicholas chaired his first meeting of the ASPIRE Superintending Group on 3 June 2003.

Inland Revenue

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the authorised establishment for professional grades was in 2000–01 for Inland Revenue International Division, Business Tax Group broken down by (a) Deputy Director's Office, (b) Policy Team and (c) Advisory/Casework Team; what the corresponding actual manning by unit was on 31 March 2001; and how many (i) transfers in and (ii) transfers out were recorded by unit in 2000–01.

Dawn Primarolo: It would be inappropriate to disclose the information requested as it would facilitate the identification of individual members of staff of the Inland Revenue. Exemption 8 (a) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies in this case.

Iraq

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of the war in Iraq to the Exchequer has been to date; and if he will make a statement on his current forecast of the likely total cost.

Paul Boateng: So far MOD has drawn down £1 billion in last year's spring Supplementary Estimate and Parliament will be invited to make any further provision for 2003–04 in this year's winter and spring Supplementary Estimates.
	The Chancellor announced in the Budget that £3 billion is set aside to cover the cost of operations in Iraq. It would be premature to anticipate the total costs of the military operation at this time.

Lyons Review

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made with the Lyons Review; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: Following publication of his interim report on 9 September, Sir Michael Lyons has been assessing relocation proposals submitted by Government Departments. Departments have identified the scope for relocating 20,000 posts, but further work is needed to develop the proposals. The Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister have extended the review to allow Sir Michael time for further discussion with Departments. His final report will be published early next year.
	More details are on the Lyons Review website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/lyonsreview

Mortgage Finance

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has commissioned on the effect on debt levels of the use of mortgage finance as a source of credit for purposes unrelated to home improvement.

Ruth Kelly: Box B8 in Annex B of the Budget 2003 discussed mortgage equity withdrawal.

NM Rothschild and Son Ltd.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild since 1997.

Paul Boateng: Since 1997, HM Treasury has engaged NM Rothschild on two projects. The firm has supplied advice on the creation of Partnerships UK and their on-going business issues, and on the sale of a number of HM Treasury's residual shareholdings.

Parliamentary Questions

Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the questions tabled on 27 October 2003 by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, concerning tax credits, reference numbers 135413 to 135416.

Dawn Primarolo: I have already done so.

Petrol Tax

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of petrol tax rises on volunteers who claim petrol expenses.

John Healey: Volunteers who receive motoring expenses are liable to tax only if the amounts received exceed actual expenditure and so they make a profit. Drivers for organised volunteer car schemes who are paid a mileage allowance may choose to calculate any profit by using tax free mileage allowances published by the Inland Revenue. These allowances are intended as a fair estimate of the costs of providing a car, including the costs of fuel.

Postal Service (VAT)

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 12 June 2003, Official Report, column 984W, on postal service (VAT), whether his policy on VAT on stamps has changed; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government remain opposed to VAT on stamps, and has made this clear in negotiations on the European Commission's proposal to amend the provisions of the Sixth VAT Directive concerning the VAT arrangements applicable to postal services.

Premature Deaths (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many premature deaths there were in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 November 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many premature deaths there were in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 20 years. I am replying in his absence. (140440)
	ONS does not have a standard definition of premature deaths. Figures provided in the tables below show total numbers of deaths under age 65 and under age 75. Numbers are provided from 1990, the earliest year for which they can be readily allocated to consistent current unitary authority boundaries.
	
		Deaths of persons under age 65 by Welsh unitary authority, 1990 to 2002(43)
		
			 Unitaryauthority   Numbers of deaths 
			 Code Name 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			  
			  
			 NA Isle of Anglesey 167 142 145 156 159 139 121 118 129 122 121 133 121 
			 NC Gwynedd 261 263 226 220 229 225 215 188 239 198 211 206 209 
			 NE Conwy 245 204 197 210 218 229 181 229 218 213 218 230 220 
			 NG Denbighshire 181 178 179 186 184 182 197 192 198 190 197 182 192 
			 NJ Flintshire 305 299 314 320 301 273 290 273 273 314 269 268 247 
			 NL Wrexham 269 234 256 285 251 264 266 254 228 248 234 230 245 
			 NN Powys 258 235 236 237 228 261 229 206 246 226 205 207 243 
			 NQ Ceredigion 115 132 126 130 121 151 115 113 112 123 126 108 126 
			 NS Pembrokeshire 261 237 253 226 212 233 200 212 Til 222 208 240 242 
			 NU Carmarthenshire 401 367 387 364 345 384 364 362 320 345 309 347 355 
			 NX Swansea 501 478 473 497 447 481 415 473 452 413 436 438 412 
			 NZ Neath Port Talbot 325 321 327 319 329 305 337 290 248 278 270 299 265 
			 PB Bridgend 323 282 285 282 263 267 247 268 211 295 260 235 225 
			 PD The Vale of Glamorgan 231 219 208 227 231 196 211 220 198 212 236 173 211 
			 PF Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 556 570 494 564 534 554 531 509 531 530 469 487 487 
			 PH Merthyr Tydfil 145 157 130 149 144 130 158 152 135 140 143 122 119 
			 PK Caerphilly 358 360 378 373 366 359 387 352 346 367 374 348 323 
			 PL Blaenau Gwent 198 168 178 151 165 171 180 145 147 184 152 168 159 
			 PM Torfaen 213 201 189 213 206 195 180 180 157 181 177 169 171 
			 PP Monmouthshire 149 142 149 146 146 144 149 156 144 143 130 138 157 
			 PR Newport 312 304 308 317 284 262 269 295 261 278 259 277 267 
			 PT Cardiff 650 602 578 624 576 583 540 573 510 550 547 530 482 
		
	
	(43) Deaths of usual residents registered in each year, based on boundaries as at April 2001.
	
		Deaths of persons under age 75 by Welsh unitary authority, 1990 to 2002(44)
		
			 Unitaryauthority Numbers of deaths 
			 Code Name 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			  
			  
			 NA Isle of Anglesey 350 352 353 356 351 313 327 293 311 272 304 287 290 
			 NC Gwynedd 598 603 556 603 586 559 535 482 561 521 484 466 465 
			 NE Conwy 611 591 529 556 578 556 514 541 527 552 482 486 496 
			 NG Denbighshire 475 475 451 482 469 400 452 463 455 443 395 412 382 
			 NJ Flintshire 666 686 674 676 652 631 633 653 547 620 573 544 504 
			 NL Wrexham 605 598 609 665 574 617 593 589 536 564 525 482 526 
			 NN Powys 578 611 559 588 575 597 531 515 558 520 470 504 496 
			 NQ Ceredigion 315 314 329 337 296 310 285 266 263 298 256 229 266 
			 NS Pembrokeshire 560 561 567 547 550 562 518 509 546 510 457 507 511 
			 NU Carmarthenshire 961 943 976 958 884 971 904 866 821 810 737 810 755 
			 NX Swansea 1140 1171 1124 1185 1099 1123 1073 1082 1043 959 978 929 890 
			 NZ Neath Port Talbot 792 812 802 814 803 750 736 710 663 662 637 618 581 
			 PB Bridgend 712 667 673 698 660 670 596 632 620 625 547 502 520 
			 PD The Vale of Glamorgan 544 555 507 505 535 506 488 516 473 472 448 390 436 
			 PF Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 1391 1355 1277 1404 1276 1360 1284 1225 1170 1174 1069 1036 1045 
			 PH Merthyr Tydfil 353 361 341 400 383 358 349 332 315 323 319 257 264 
			 PK Caerphilly 855 840 879 887 867 860 857 841 818 765 816 751 743 
			 PL Blaenau Gwent 485 430 444 407 432 428 411 376 360 400 336 357 329 
			 PM Torfaen 525 461 473 502 489 448 437 447 402 425 415 407 374 
			 PP Monmouthshire 365 366 390 348 399 356 362 340 337 328 290 334 316 
			 PR Newport 689 670 704 682 711 649 620 657 600 613 566 583 554 
			 PT Cardiff 1,471 1,342 1,330 1,418 1,321 1,351 1,267 1,285 1,176 1,221 1,167 1,082 1,044 
		
	
	(44) Deaths of usual residents registered in each year, based on boundaries as at April 2001.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers

Ian Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated (a) national insurance contributions and (b) tax revenues would be of the 50,000 seasonal agricultural workers recommended by the Curry Report over their period of employment.

Dawn Primarolo: People working under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme are entitled to earn up to the single personal allowance tax free. Most are students engaged during their vacation periods and this is sufficient to remove them from any UK tax liability. SAWS students are not EU nationals and the majority are engaged in agricultural or similar courses in their home countries. This means there is no National Insurance liability for the first 52 weeks of their stay in the UK. It is therefore unlikely that there would be any additional tax or NICs revenue arising from proposals to increase the number of SAWS students.

Tax Credits

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the availability to the public of the Code of Practice 26 leaflet concerning what to do in the case of overpayments of tax credits.

Dawn Primarolo: The code can be found on the Inland Revenue website (www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits).

Tax Credits

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have received a tax credit overpayment of more than (a) £1,000 and (b) £5,000; what plans there are for these sums to be repaid; and over what timescale.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 394W.

Tax Credits

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the advice that has been given to those people who have received a tax credit overpayment of over £5,000; and what alternative methods of repayment have been suggested to them.

Dawn Primarolo: Advice on the recovery of overpayments of tax credit is provided by the Inland Revenue's code of practice 26 "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", which is on their internet site www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/taxcredits. A copy of the code has also been placed in the House Library.

Tax Credits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people benefited from the working family tax credit in each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, listed in descending order.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland) on 13 January 2003, Official Report, column 412W.

Tax Credits

Helen Liddell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are in receipt of the disabled person's tax credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: Disabled Person's Tax Credit was replaced by Working Tax Credit in April 2003.
	The number of families who received Working Families' or Disabled Person's Tax Credit in each local authority appears in "Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses".
	The number of families who receive the new tax credits appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics—Geographical Analyses" and analyses of the disabled elements appear in "Child and Working Tax Credit Quarterly Statistics".
	All three publications are available on the Inland Revenue website at http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm.

Tax Credits

Helen Liddell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to increase the take up of child tax credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: There are now 5.9 million families benefiting from the Child and Working Tax Credits meaning that, after just seven months, we have reached 98 per cent. of those families we expected to reach over a whole year. National Statistics show that, as at 11 July, there were 5,800 families in Airdrie and Shotts receiving Child or Working Tax Credit, including 5,700 families with children, containing 9,800 children.
	A high-profile publicity campaign has been running since September 2002 to alert people to their entitlement to Child Tax Credit (and Working Tax Credit) and to encourage them to claim.
	The campaign has so far included national television advertising, local radio advertising across the UK, adverts in the national press as well as on-line publicity and the use of direct mail.

Teenage Pregnancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many teenage pregnancies there were in each constituency in each of the past 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 November 2003–11–21
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many teenage pregnancies there were in each constituency in each of the past 20 years. I am replying in his absence. (140426)
	Figures are not available prior to 1988. Figures since that date would only be available at a disproportionate cost. Figures for ward, local authority and health authority areas are produced annually.
	The following link provides teenage conception data by local authority and quarter of occurrence from 1998 to 2001:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D4877.xls
	Teenage conceptions data by ward from 1992 to 2000 is available on CDROMs from ONS, Vital Statistics Customer Services, Segensworth Road, Titchfield, Fareham, Hampshire, PO15 5RR
	The following link provies teenage conception data by health authority http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp? vInk=6624&More=Y

Teenage Pregnancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births to girls conceiving under the age of 16 years there were in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 20 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 November 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many births to girls conceiving under the age of 16 there were in each local authority in Wales in each of the past 20 years. I am replying in his absence. (140435) Prior to 1987, the method used for calculating mother's age at conception was not comparable to that used in later years.
	Figures shown in the attached table are for 1987 to 2001, the latest year available.
	
		Births to girls conceiving under the age of 16, Wales—1987 to 2001
		
			 Unitary authority 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 (45)2001 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Blaenau Gwent 8 10 7 12 10 8 11 16 14 16 10 17 9 13 13 
			 Bridgend 19 12 16 14 10 18 14 16 22 27 16 21 13 20 11 
			 Caerphilly 14 30 21 36 15 28 28 27 36 36 32 26 24 28 16 
			 Cardiff 30 34 30 14 23 33 30 20 40 39 37 40 34 23 25 
			 Carmarthenshire 12 6 7 13 7 9 10 12 7 11 12 15 12 12 12 
			 Ceredigion   5  -  5   5  
			 Conwy 10 10  11  6 10 9 12 16 11 7 14 7 8 
			 Denbighshire 4 8 10 10 5 5 6 9 (46) 8 7 9 5 10 6 
			 Flintshire 10 7 8 14 4 8 14 9 10 14 10 13 21 5 7 
			 Gwynedd 5 6 5 11 7 10 9 7 (46) 12 9  5 10 12 
			 Isle of Anglesey 8  4  5 7 9 5 6   5 5   
			 Merthyr Tydfil 19 11 17 14 7 16 13 14 12 8 9 13 11 11 12 
			 Monmouthshire 9 8  (46) 4 5  5 7 95 4 
			 Neath Port Talbot 18 12 8 17 10 8 12 8 25 9 11 16 9 16 13 
			 Newport 10 17 18 24 21 16 19 25 14 16 19 12 21 10 13 
			 Pembrokeshire 8 7 77 6 7 10 5 12 5 10  
			 Powys  11 5 5 7 4 6  6 7 4 8 8 7 4 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 35 29 32 30 39 25 26 25 40 39 45 32 25 26 32 
			 Swansea 16 17 13 18 22 12 15 20 27 34 30 38 25 23 21 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 6 10 8 9 8 9  13 10 12 17 9 10  8 
			 Torfaen 9 9 7 14 7 9 9 18 12 17 10 12 6 9 7 
			 Wrexham 6 16 7 15 13 12 11 8 14 13 15 8 15 9  
			 Wales 259 275 240 290 230 253 267 276 330 360 318 322 282 265 235 
		
	
	(45) Figures for 2001 are provisional
	(46) Figure suppressed to prevent disclosure of a count less than 3 or disclosure by differencing

Unemployment (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many households without work for two years or more there were in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 20 years;
	(2)  how many children were living in workless households in each local authority area in Wales in each of the past 10 years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 20 November 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions about (i) households that have been without work for 2 years or more and (ii) children living in workless households. I am replying in his absence. (91600)
	The tables overleaf give the available information from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). These estimates are for the three-month period ending May of each year from 1999 to 2003. Comparable information is not available at local authority level for earlier years. The LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of workless households for some local authorities in Wales.
	
		Number of dependent children(47)in workless working-age households(48) in Wales, by local authority  -- Thousands, not seasonally adjusted
		
			 March to May 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Wales total 129 121 125 114 129 
			 Anglesey Isle of * * * * * 
			 Gwynedd * * * * * 
			 Conwy * * * * * 
			 Denbighshire * * * * * 
			 Flintshire * * * * * 
			 Wrexham * * * * * 
			 Powys * * * * * 
			 Ceredigion * * * * * 
			 Pembrokeshire * * * * * 
			 Carmarthenshire * 10 * * * 
			 Swansea * * * 11 * 
			 Neath Port Talbot * * * * * 
			 Bridgend * * * * * 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan * * * * * 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff * 17 14 16 16 
			 Merthyr Tydfil * * * * * 
			 Caerphiliy 10 * * * 10 
			 Blaenau Gwentt UA * * * * * 
			 Torfaen * * * * * 
			 Monmouthshire * * * * * 
			 Newport * * * * * 
			 Cardiff 12 15 15 11 11 
		
	
	(47) Dependent children are those aged under 16 and those aged 16–18 in full-time education.
	(48) Households with at least one person of working age, where no-one is in employment. Not adjusted for households with unknown economic activity.
	* Sample size too small for reliable estimate
	Note: These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates
	have not been adjusted to take account of the Census 2001 results.
	Source:ONS Labour Force Survey
	
		Working age(49)households in Wales which have been workless for two year or more, by local authority -- Thousands, not seasonally adjusted
		
			 March to May 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Wales total 130 142 146 142 127 
			 Anglesey Isle of * * * * * 
			 Gwynedd * * * * * 
			 Conwy * * * * * 
			 Denbighshire * * * * * 
			 Flintshire * * * * * 
			 Wrexham 10 * * * * 
			 Powys * * * * * 
			 Ceredigion * * * * * 
			 Pembrokeshire * * * * * 
			 Carmarthenshire * * * * 10 
			 Swansea 10 12 * 10 * 
			 Neath Port Talbot 10 10 * 10 * 
			 Bridgend * * * * * 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan * * * * * 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff * 18 16 13 15 
			 Merthyr Tydfil * * * * * 
			 Caerphilly * * 12 10 11 
			 Blaenau Gwentt UA * * * * * 
			 Torfaen * * * * * 
			 Monmouthshire * * * * * 
			 Newport * * * * * 
			 Cardiff 11 13 13 15 14 
		
	
	(49) Households with at least one person of working age
	* Sample size too small for reliable estimate
	Note: These Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates have not been adjusted to take account of the Census 2001 result
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

VAT (Tourism)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
	(1)  how much VAT revenue was raised from tourism in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much income was raised from tourism in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested is not available.

Work-related Stress

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of work-related stress have been reported in his Department in each of the last three years; how much compensation has been paid to employees; how many work days have been lost due to work-related stress, and at what cost; what procedures have been put in place to reduce work-related stress, and at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The number of cases of work-related stress is not held by the Chancellor's Departments, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	The amount of compensation paid due to work-related stress in each of the last three years is however held, and is as follows:
	
		£s
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Inland Revenue 6,531 82,836 51,000 
			 Customs and Excise 1,500 Nil 60,000 
			 Treasury Nil Nil Nil 
		
	
	The Chancellor's Departments have taken a range of preventative and protective measures against work-related stress, including addressing long working hours, adopting flexible and family friendly policies, (such as job sharing and home-working), and phased return to work to aid the rehabilitation of staff returning from long-term sick leave. Each Department has an in house Staff Welfare Service which operates independently of the management chain.
	The Chancellor's Departments are mindful of the obligations under Health and Safety at Work legislation to ensure that staff are not exposed to unacceptable risks in the workplace. Also, the Chancellor's Departments remain committed to reducing the number of working days lost generally to work-related injuries and illnesses in support of the Government's Revitalising Health and Safety initiative and its long-term occupational health strategy Securing Health Together.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Benefit

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families are in receipt of child benefit in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency; and how many children that includes.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	9,870 families were receiving child benefit for 16,585 children as at 30 November 2002 in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency.

Housing Benefit Costs

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) gross and (b) net housing benefit costs were (i) pre and (ii) post whole stock transfer for those local authorities which have carried out large scale voluntary transfers of all their council stock in each year since 1995.

Chris Pond: I will write to my hon. Friend.

Benefits Application Forms

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to ensure that only the latest edition of benefit application forms is available for downloading and completion electronically.

Chris Pond: Benefit application forms are not available for downloading and completion electronically. A review of Department for Work and Pensions PDF forms that can be completed on a computer, but not returned electronically, is underway.

Benefits Application Forms

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual cost to his Department of (a) income support fraud and (b) Jobseeker's Allowance fraud in the last three years.

Chris Pond: Our estimates of levels of fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance are contained in the following reports which are available in the Library.
	Year ending March 2000—National Statistics report: The Results of the Area Benefit Review and Quality Support Team from April 1999 to March 2000, Table 4.1 National Levels of Fraud and Customer Error in IS, Table 5.1 National levels of Fraud and Customer Error in JSA.
	Year ending March 2001—National Statistics report: The results of the Area Benefit Review and Quality Support Team from April 2000 to March 2001, Table 2.1 National levels of Fraud, Customer Error and Official Error in IS, Table 2.2 National levels of Fraud, Customer Error and Official Error in JSA.
	Year ending March 2002—National Statistics report: Fraud and Error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance from April 2001 to March 2002, Table 2.1 National Results Overpayments.

Benefits Application Forms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what measures his Department takes to ensure that benefit claimants who enquire about using a bank account to receive their benefits are informed of all available options, including the use of Post Office card accounts;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of (a) the tone and content of his Department's literature and (b) the impartiality of its advice on the relative merits of (i) bank accounts and (ii) Post Office card accounts as a means to receive benefit payments.

Chris Pond: Already 87 per cent of all customers have access to a bank account that can receive Direct Payment. All staff, including front line, Call Centre and Information-line staff, have been provided with information on all of the account options available to the customer. It will be up to the customers themselves to decide which type of account they wish to have their money paid into. The role of DWP staff is to provide factual information in response to enquiries made.
	The Department's information campaign, to support the move to Direct Payment, provides customers with factual information on the banking options available to them, including information on the Post Office card account.
	This information campaign has been produced in consultation with the Post Office and a range of other stakeholders.
	Customer information material is tested on groups of customers before it is issued. This helps to ensure that customers are supplied with all the information they need to choose the account option that is right for them and that they can understand that information.
	The Department will continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of its customer information material and will make further changes if necessary.

Benefits Application Forms

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the amount of unclaimed (a) income support broken down by (i) pensioners and (ii) non-pensioners, (b) housing benefit broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) private tenants, (c) council tax benefit broken down by (i) local authority tenants, (ii) private tenants and (iii) owner occupiers, (d) family credit broken down by (i) couples and (ii) single parents, (e) disability living allowance and (f) attendance allowance in each Welsh constituency in each of the past 10 years; and if he will estimate the total amount of unclaimed benefit broken down by (A) local authority and (B) constituency in Wales in each year.

Chris Pond: The information requested is not available.
	National estimates of unclaimed amounts of Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and Family Credit for different population groups are presented in the DWP publication series entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-up". Copies of the publication can be found in the Library.

Call Centres (Outsourcing)

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom.

Des Browne: The Department has no plans to outsource to countries abroad work performed by DWP staff in call centres.

Child Support Agency

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long an individual in Gloucestershire will have to wait for reassessment by the Child Support Agency as a result of job loss following the introduction of the new system of calculation.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Mike Isaacs to Diana Organ, dated 20 November 2003
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked how long an individual in Gloucestershire would have to wait for re-assessment by the Agency following the introduction of the new system of maintenance calculation.
	The Agency is unable to break down clearance times separately for the Gloucester area.
	If the client has been assessed under the old child support scheme they will be re-assessed under that scheme. They will only be re-assessed under the new scheme when the Government decides that it is working sufficiently well to move the existing caseload to it.
	If the client was assessed under the new scheme (i.e. since 3rd March 2003) they will be re-assessed under the new scheme. While the Agency aims to clear those re-assessments as quickly as possible, such re-assessments have been relatively few with the result that information on clearance times is not yet available.

Child Trust Funds

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether child trust funds will affect eligibility for Jobseeker's Allowance.

Chris Pond: We are currently considering the precise impact on benefits; however, for most capital held in trust for children, money is disregarded when considering parents' eligibility for benefits.

Correspondence

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library copies of his Department's correspondence since November 2001 with the Chief Rent Officer for London.

Maria Eagle: There is no post of Chief Rent Officer for London. The Rent Service, which is an executive agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has an Area Manager for London; a post that was created in April 2002, following an internal reorganisation of the Rent Service. The Department has not corresponded directly with the Rent Service's Area Manager for London.

CSA

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  in how many cases since 1 January the Child Support Agency has incorrectly cancelled existing deductions from earnings orders; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  in (a) how many and (b) what percentage of cases in the last 12 months a maintenance enquiry form to the non-resident parent was not issued within (i) one month, (ii) two months and (iii) three months of an application being made to the Child Support Agency by the parent with care.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 20 November 2003
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As heis currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked in how many cases since 1st January the Child Support Agency has incorrectly cancelled existing deductions from earnings orders.
	You also asked in how many and what percentage of cases in the last 12 months a maintenance enquiry form to the non-resident parent was not issued within (a) one month, (b) two months and (c) three months of an application being made to the Child Support Agency by the parent with care.
	I am afraid that the information, which you requested, is not available. There has been no requirement to collect it under the old Child Support scheme and computer system.
	As you are aware the new Child Support scheme and computer system were introduced for new applications on 3rd March this year. It is our intention to collect information of the type, which you have requested, and we are working with EDS, the new system providers, to develop the functionality we need to do this.
	It is worth pointing out that under the new scheme we are conducting as much of our work as possible by telephone, directly with both parents. Consequently, most maintenance enquiry forms are completed by our staff through telephone interviews with the non-resident parent. Only where we are unable to trace a telephone number for the non-resident parent do we issue a clerical form for his/her completion.

CSA

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether, in determining the maintenance liability of self-employed parents, the Child Support Agency is obliged to take into account reductions in taxable income arising from capital depreciation and other allowances;
	(2)  whether the Child Support Agency is required to use the level of taxable income declared to the Inland Revenue as the basis for determining the maintenance liability of a self-employed parent.

Chris Pond: No. The Child Support Agency is not obliged to take into account capital depreciation and other allowances or to use the level of taxable income declared to the Inland Revenue in establishing the earnings of self-employed parents. Regulations allow the use of information submitted to or provided by the Inland Revenue or of information relating to the parent's business expenses.
	Departures and variations may be available in cases where the calculation of child support liability does not produce a fair rate.

Departmental Costs

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was to his Department for (a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: For information on ministerial cars and drivers I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 13 November 2003, Official Report, columns 397–98W.
	The amount spent for official use of taxis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The amount spent for official use of UK rail travel is 1 as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 Information not available 
			 1998–99 Information not available 
			 1999–2000 7,442,100 
			 2000–01 6,606,657 
			 2001–02 7,621,545 
			 2002–03 11,919,783 
		
	
	Note:
	There has been no use of helicopters, at Departmental expense, since 1997.
	The figures for air travel (UK and Overseas) 1 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 Information not available 
			 1998–99 Information not available 
			 1999–2000 2,860,718 
			 2000–01 2,879,011 
			 2001–02 3,550,538 
			 2002–03 5,306,126 
		
	
	Note:
	There has been no use of chartered flights, at Departmental expense, since 1997.
	(50) Figures relate to the former Department of Social Security and the Department for Work and Pensions from 2001.
	Since 1999, the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of the lists covering the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2003 are available in the Library.
	All official travel in the Department is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the 'Ministerial Code' and 'Travel by Ministers'—copies of which are available in the Library.

Departmental Energy Use

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) electricity and (b) other energy his Department has used in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) per square metre; what the projected use is for each of the following years for which forecasts are made; what plans he has to reduce usage; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr. Ben Bradshaw on 3 November 2003, Official Report Vol 412, Cols. 404w-408w. The Department for Work and Pensions supports and actively contributes to the UK Strategy For Sustainable Development and the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
	A key element to the Department's overall strategy for Sustainable Development is effective energy management. A cross-Government target is being developed to achieve an ongoing reduction in carbon equivalent emissions from buildings against 1999–2000 levels, and DWP will contribute to this. This will be achieved by continuing to improve energy efficiency throughout the estate and by implementingspend to save investment schemes where viable. An ongoing strategy to raise staff awareness will also continue aimed at promoting good housekeeping and eliminating the wasteful use of energy in the workplace.
	Energy performance is monitored against the Government's 'good practice' benchmarks and remedial action taken in buildings where excessive energy use is identified.

Departmental Filestores

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when (a) he, (b) a minister in his Department and (c) the Permanent Secretary at the Department last visited a departmental filestore (i) in the North West and (ii) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Department operates from over 1,800 offices and a significant number of these have some file storage facility, many of these will have been visited by a Minister or the Permanent Secretary of this Department. However, we have no record of any Minister or Permanent Secretary visiting our sites used solely for the purpose of file storage.

Disabled Access

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information he has collated on variations in the provision of ramps for the disabled between local authorities.

Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.
	The disabled facilities grant programme helps to fund a wide range of housing adaptations, including facilitating access to and from the property. This is a mandatory grant available to eligible applicants in order to help them to continue to live independently in their own homes, funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and administered through local authorities.
	Some councils also provide ramps under Community Care legislation.
	The Government does not collect information on numbers, or the nature of ramps provided by local authorities under these programmes.

Disabled People (Discrimination)

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to give disabled people the same legislative protection from discrimination as those facing sex and race discrimination.

Maria Eagle: We have been working to ensure that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) provides comprehensive civil rights for disabled people. Most recently, the Disability Discrimination Act (Amendment) Regulations 2003 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Pensions) Regulations 2003, which come into force in October 2004, have improved protection for disabled people in the field of employment and vocational training. Later this year, we will publish a draft Disability Bill which will include further measures to extend disabled people's civil rights. However, it is inappropriate to attempt exact comparisons between the DDA and the Race Relations and Sex Discrimination Acts, not least because the DDA includes the unique concept of reasonable adjustments.

Exceptions Service

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the Exceptions Service will operate in respect of people in debt whose benefits are being used to pay off debts to their bank under the right of set-off.

Chris Pond: There are a wide range of accounts available which are free to operate and do not offer overdraft facilities. Account providers make their customers aware of the features of individual accounts and leaflets provided to benefits customers and pensioners also set out which types of accounts offer overdraft facilities.
	Detailed arrangements for the exceptions method of payment are not finalised yet, but it is anticipated that it will be a cheque-based solution. The small number of customers who cannot operate an account will be able to pay their benefit or pension into an account of their choice, or access their cash at Post Office branches.

Health and Safety

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of Health and Safety inspectors who will be employed in each of the next three financial years.

Des Browne: Estimates of the number of Health and Safety inspectors who will be employed in each of the next three financial years have not yet been made.
	The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is now consulting on a new strategy for the years 2004—2010. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is carrying out pilot studies in new ways of working to free up resource which can be used to deliver its mission to protect peoples1 health and safety by ensuring risks to health and safety from the changing workplace are properly controlled. Responses to the draft strategy and the results of the pilot studies will be taken into account when deciding on the appropriate mix and number of staff (including inspectors) within HSE.
	While regulation and enforcing compliance with the law remain vital elements of HSE's work, they are not the only means of achieving health and safety improvements. HSE plans to put more effort into educating, influencing and working in partnership with others (at all levels) who can help achieve further improvement in health and safety performance.

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on housing benefit for residents of (a) houses in multiple occupation, (b) the rest of the private rented sector, (c) council housing and (d) other social housing in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average cost per person was in each case.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the tables.
	
		£million
		
			 Housing Benefit expenditureby tenure type Expenditure in 2001–02 
		
		
			 Tenure  
			 Private (excluding Registered Social Landlord) 2,859 
			 Local Authority (Rent Rebate) 5,283 
			 Registered Social Landlord 3,450 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. 2001–02 is the latest year where final audited outturn expenditure information
	is available
	2. Expenditure is rounded to the nearest m
	3. The expenditure figures are for GB.
	Source:
	Audited expenditure information from Local Authorities
	
		£
		
			 Average weekly amount ofHousing Benefit by Tenure Average weekly amount of Tenure Housing Benefit  
		
		
			 Private (excluding Registered Social Landlord) 71.60 
			 Local Authority 48.12 
			 Registered Social Landlord 58.01 
		
	
	Notes:1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.2. The average amounts have been rounded to the nearest penny. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases.Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in May 2003

Identity Cards

Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the use of ID cards to reduce benefit fraud.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates he has made of the savings that his Department will gain through the introduction of a compulsory identity card.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Members to the oral answer given to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 17 November 2003, Official Report, column 469.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement concerning JobCentre Plus' Vision for London plan, with reference to (a) the number of (i) permanent and (ii) temporary posts, that will be moved out of London, (b) the timescale for the moves, (c) the expected impact on services for JobCentre Plus clients (i) in general and (ii) those from minority ethnic communities without English as a first language, (d) the extent to which those staff providing services for London JobCentre Plus clients from out of London will be expected to have a related knowledge of the jobs market (A) in the different parts of London geographically and (B) in the different parts of London's economy and (e) the impact of the move on the likely numbers of JobCentre Plus staff from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Des Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 20 November 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the Jobcentre Plus Vision for London and it's impact on our customers and staff. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	It may be helpful if I explain that like the rest of my Agency, London region has embarked on a process of incremental change to deliver modern, effective and responsive services to our customers. Our priority is to provide the best possible service to our customers. The Jobcentre Plus London Vision is a generic title that encompasses a range of Department of Work and Pensions, National Jobcentre Plus and Regional change initiatives to achieve this aim. In general terms and by 2006, I aim to have in place a network of new modernised offices and support services which:
	enhance access and provide improved service to a much larger customer base;
	ensure better value for money through delivery of more efficient processes, and
	provide more satisfying and rewarding jobs for staff in more pleasant and professional working environments.
	Part of the change programme which is included in the London Vision, includes initiatives that, over time, will offer wider choice to our customers about how they access support and services. I envisage, for example, that by 2006 many more of those who can will be able to access appropriate services remotely, via Jobseeker Direct, Employer Direct and our network of First Contact Centres for new claims to benefit. To provide the best possible service to our customers within our finite resource a number of our non customer facing roles will be delivered outside of London. The extent and numbers of jobs that will be relocated will be clearer in the new year, once some key decisions are taken about our backroom benefit processing roles. I would however stress that we plan to retain local capacity to provide face-to-face service for customers who cannot take advantage of other means of accessing the help and support they need.
	You may be aware of the Department of Work and Pensions Departmental Plans. These plans show that the Department will see a reduction in the number of staff it employs from 130,000 in 2002 to 112,000 in 2006 as part of the Spending Review undertaken in 2002. Jobcentre Plus in London (including existing London region staff based in Scotland and North West England) will see a reduction in the level of full time staff providing services to London Customers from 12,318 in April 2002 to 10,769 in March 2006 according to our latest planning assumptions. Underlying these headline numbers is the ongoing impact of London's dynamic labour market. The region is currently looking to recruit up to 700 new staff into London this year and has a proven track record of recruiting ethnic minorities. I am confident further recruitment will be needed next year.
	The introduction of the new Jobcentre Plus services will change the sorts of jobs available to staff in London. By 2006, more of my staff in London and other regions, will be providing face-to-face services to those customers who most need this form of help. It is true that over time the type and location of work will change, but I am confident that there will be jobs for everyone currently working in London.
	I know that the London Field Director, Sheelagh Keyse, is keen to assess all aspects of her change programme. Consultation on individual initiatives takes place in the normal progress of business. In addition, and in order to assess the overall strategy, Sheelagh has commissioned a review of the entire London Change Programme led by DWP consultants. This review is due to report in December and further information will be available in January 2004, and I would like to offer you the opportunity to meet with Alan Brown who will be taking over as the Field Director for London to discuss the impact of changes on our London workforce.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of unemployed people of working age in receipt of an occupational pension not qualifying for jobseeker's allowance.

Chris Pond: The information requested is not available. However, as at May 2003 there were 11,100 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance who were not receiving any benefit and who had an income from an occupational or personal pension.

Loans

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 910W, on loans for those on low incomes, what the average time taken is for (a) applications, (b) decisions and (c) first payments to arrive for crisis loans.

Chris Pond: Crisis loans are available to anyone, whether or not they are receiving a benefit, who is facing an emergency or disaster which is threatening their health or safety or that of a member of their family, and who has either no resources or insufficient resources to meet the need.
	During 2002–03, 96.7 per cent. of crisis loans applications were processed and paid on the day they were made. Crisis loans are usually paid immediately by girocheque in a Jobcentre Plus or Social Security office. As most payments are for essential items, those made by post are sent first class.

New Deal

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 5 November 2003, Official Report, column 673W, on the New Deal, how many New Deal personal advisers there were in each year since 1997.

Des Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated 20 November 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many New Deal Personal Advisers there were in each year since 1997. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	Regrettably, the information you have requested is not available. It is the policy within Jobcentre Plus and other parts of the Department for Work and Pensions to collect staffing information by grade/location and not job role.

Non-resident Parents

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether non-resident parents are required to pay child support when paternity is in dispute; and whether the non-resident parent pays the cost of testing to establish paternity, in the first instance.

Chris Pond: If parentage is disputed at the outset, in certain circumstances the Child Support Agency can make a presumption of parentage and proceed to enforce a maintenance calculation. Parentage can be presumed where, for example, the alleged father was married to the mother at the time of the child's conception or birth, or where an alleged parent refuses to take a DNA test.
	If parentage is questioned after a calculation has been made, the calculation will remain in force. If the alleged non-resident parent turns out not to be the parent of the child the agency makes a full refund of maintenance.
	The agency can offer access to DNA tests at a discounted rate. The alleged non-resident parent pays for the test but if they are found not to be the parent of the child the fee is refunded. Where the alleged non-resident parent is unable or unwilling to pay for the test the agency may, in some cases, pay for it in advance. However if the test is positive, the full non-discounted fee will be charged.

Parliamentary Questions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the questions tabled on 28 October by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, concerning the operation of the Social Fund, reference numbers 135577 to 135580, 135582, 135583 and 135616 to 135620.

Chris Pond: I have given answers today.

Paternity Pay

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Airdrie and Shotts have benefited from statutory paternity pay since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Statutory paternity pay is a new entitlement for fathers whose babies were born or expected on or after 6 April 2003. There are no take up figures available yet.

Pension Credit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are aged 60 and over in each parliamentary constituency in England, according to 2001 Census data; and how many are claiming Pension Credit.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on the number of people aged 60 and over from the 2001 Census, and the number of pensioner households and individuals receiving Pension Credit as at 17 October, 2003 by English parliamentary constituencies has been placed in the Library.
	Source:
	IAD In ONS Census data 2001.
	Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
	Notes:
	1. Population figures have been obtained from the Office for National Statistics.
	2. Pension Credit figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	3. Pension Credit figures are based on 100 per cent. Generalised Matching Service (CMS) data.
	4. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.

Pension Credit

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 17 November, Official Report, columns 481–2, how many pensioners in Perth were claiming pension credit on the latest date for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: As at 17 October, 2003 the number of pensioner households receiving Pension Credit in Perth constituency was 2,530.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent sample
	Notes:
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Figures are based on 100 per cent Generalised Matching Service (CMS) data.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.

Pension Credit

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the take-up of pension credit in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: As at 17 October, 2003 the number of pensioner households receiving Pension Credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency was 3,665.
	1.97 million households in Great Britain (around 2.3 million individuals) are already receiving Pension Credit with 1.2 million households, (around 1.4 million individuals receiving more money than they did before. The average award is £47.10 per week.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent sample
	Notes:
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Figures are based on 100 per cent Generalised Matching Service (CMS) data.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.

Pension Schemes

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce a legal requirement on employers to fund pension schemes that would ensure assets do not fall below the discontinuance funding ratio.

Malcolm Wicks: Government proposals for regulating occupational pension schemes are set out in the documents "Simplifying the taxation of pensions: increasing choice and flexibility for all" (published in December 2002) and "Working and Saving for Retirement: Action on Occupational Pensions" (published in June 2003). Where a scheme with a solvent sponsoring employer is winding-up the Government believe that the employer should ensure the scheme has sufficient funds, as assessed on a discontinuance basis, to secure scheme members' expected benefits in full. We therefore propose to introduce a requirement to ensure that, in this situation, the debt on the sponsoring employer will be calculated on a full buy-out basis.
	More generally, we propose to replace the minimum funding requirement (MFR) for defined benefit schemes with scheme specific funding requirements. Under our proposals it will be the responsibility of each scheme's trustees, working with the sponsoring employer and the scheme actuary, to develop a funding strategy aimed at ensuring that the scheme is able to meet its long-term pension commitments. Where a scheme is not winding-up we do not believe it would be appropriate to introduce a requirement for its funding to meet any prescribed minimum level as assessed on a discontinuance, or any other, basis.
	Improving member protection is a Government priority, which is why we are introducing the new Pension Protection Fund. It will enhance protection for pension scheme members and improve confidence in pension provision in general, by ensuring that members of defined benefit schemes will still receive a meaningful retirement income if their sponsoring employer goes bust and the scheme is under funded.

Printer Cartridges

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of the impact on employees health of refilling and re-using printer cartridges.

Des Browne: The toner used as part of the printing process is an extremely fine powder which in itself is not classed as a substance hazardous to health. However, any dust in substantial concentration may be classed as hazardous as it may cause respiratory tract irritation. In these circumstances the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) place a duty on users of substances hazardous to health to carry out a risk assessment of their activity and to put in place appropriate control measures based on that assessment. Suppliers of substances for use at work also have a duty under the Chemicals (Hazard information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations (CHIP) to provide a safety data sheet with information to help users work with the substances safely.

Public Employees (Essex)

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many part-time workers were employed by Jobcentre Plus in Essex on 1 September.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 October 2003, Official Report, column 209W.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what statutory investigatory powers the Department has; which ones will be superseded by use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and what plans he has for removing these legacy powers.

Chris Pond: Use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 will not supersede the statutory powers available to the Department. There are no plans to remove existing statutory powers from departmental or local authority authorised officers.

Social Fund

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of applications for assistance from the Social Fund in the last financial year were unsuccessful, broken down by departmental sub-region;
	(2)  what proportion of applications for assistance under the Social Fund from Birmingham, Northfield were unsuccessful in the last financial year.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the table.
	
		Proportion of unsuccessful initial applicationsApril 2002 to March 2003 -- Percentage
		
			  Community care grants Budgeting loans Crisisloans 
		
		
			 Great Britain 58.3 26.3 21.9 
			 Birmingham, Northfield— April 2002 to August 2003 55.1 25.0 9.1 
			 All Birmingham Districts 56.2 25.3 15.8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. An application is defined as unsuccessful if no award is made.
	2. Figures refer to initial decisions only.
	3. Social Fund data are held by Departmental District. It will not be available by Government Office Region until the migration of all work to Jobcentre Plus Districts is completed.
	4. In September 2002 the Birmingham Northfield Social fund district amalgamated with other districts to become part of the Jobcentre Plus Birmingham and Solihull District.
	5. The area covered by the Birmingham, Northfield site is not co-terminus with the Birmingham, Northfield parliamentary constituency.

Social Fund

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average timescale was for reviews of unsuccessful applications for assistance under the Social Fund to be considered and determined by the Independent Review Service in the last financial year broken down by departmental sub-region;
	(2)  what the average timescale was for reviews of unsuccessful applications from Birmingham, Northfield for assistance under the Social Fund to be considered and determined by the Independent Review Service in the last financial year.

Chris Pond: The operational performance of the Independent Review Service (IRS), an independent statutory body, is a matter for the Social Fund Commissioner who informs me that:
	In the financial year 2002–03, the national average timescales for reviews dealt with by the IRS were 11.1 days for community care grants; 10.23 days for crisis loans for items; 7.64 days for budgeting loans; and 5.12 hours for urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	In the financial year 2002–03, the average timescales for reviews dealt with by the IRS from Birmingham, Northfield were 12.32 days for community care grants; 10 days for crisis loans for items; 7.25 days for budgeting loans; and 1.88 hours for urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	Tables setting out this information, which also give the average timescales by Government Office Region and Jobcentre Plus District have been placed in the Library.

Social Fund

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of applications for assistance under the Social Fund from Birmingham, Northfield were unsuccessful at independent review in financial year 2002–03;
	(2)  what proportion of applications for assistance under the Social Fund were unsuccessful at independent review in financial year 2002–03, broken down by departmental sub-region.

Chris Pond: The operational performance of the Independent Review Service (IRS), an independent statutory body, is a matter for the Social Fund Commissioner who informs me that:
	In the financial year 2002–03, the proportion of applications for assistance under the Social Fund from Birmingham Northfield which were unsuccessful at independent review were 32.1 per cent. for community care grants; 33.3 per cent. for crisis loans for items; 100 per cent. for budgeting loans; and 100 per cent. urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	In the financial year 2002–03, nationally the proportion of applications for assistance under the Social Fund which were unsuccessful at independent review were 31.4 per cent. for community care grants; 46.7 per cent. for crisis loans for items; 89.2 per cent. for budgeting loans; and 68.3 per cent. urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	Tables setting out the information, which also give the proportions which were unsuccessful at independent review by Government Office Region and Jobcentre Plus District, have been placed in the Library.

Social Fund

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average time periods achieved were in the last 12 months for which figures are available for (a) reaching decisions on applications from residents of Birmingham, Northfield for assistance from the Social Fund and (b) passing these decisions to applicants;
	(2)  what the average time period was in the last 12 months for which figures are available for reaching decisions on applications for assistance from the Social Fund, broken down by departmental sub-region;
	(3)  what the target time periods were in the last 12 months for which figures are available for (a) reaching decisions on applications for assistance from the Social Fund and (b) passing these decisions to applicants, broken down by departmental sub-region.

Chris Pond: For the last 12 months the Jobcentre Plus Key Management Indicator for clearing applications for Social Fund Community Care Grants has been an average of nine working days. As an additional aid to monitoring performance, Jobcentre Plus aim to clear applications for Budgeting Loans within an average of eight working days and 95 per cent. of all Crisis Loan applications on the day of receipt. All decision letters, irrespective of the outcome of the decision, are sent by first class mail.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Average clearance times for applications in days for the 12 months -- to September 2003
		
			  Great Britain Birmingham, Northfield 
		
		
			 Community Care Grants 8.1 6.8 
			 Budgeting Loans 2.6 4.6 
			 Crisis Loans 1.2 1.1 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Social Fund data is not at present available by Government Office Region, but will be from the completion of the migration of work to Jobcentre Plus Districts.
	2. For grants, the clearance time is defined as the time from receipt of the application to making the decision.
	3. For loans, the clearance time is defined as the time from receipt of the application to making the decision if an offer is not made or not responded to; if an offer is made, the clearance time is the time from receipt of the application to the decision to make an offer plus the time from the receipt of the accepted offer to the recording of that acceptance.
	4. When a Crisis Loan application is received and the offer of acceptance is recorded on the same day that counts as a clearance time of one day.
	5. Clearance times are measured in whole working days, but average clearance times have been given to one decimal place.
	6. In September 2002 the Birmingham Northfield Social Fund district amalgamated with other districts to become part of the Jobcentre Plus Birmingham and Solihull District.
	7. The area covered by the Birmingham Northfield office is not co-terminus with the Birmingham Northfield parliamentary constituency.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions Central Data Unit Management Information.

Social Fund

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average time periods were for the last 12 months for which figures are available for (a) reaching decisions on reviews of unsuccessful applications from residents of Birmingham, Northfield for assistance from the Social Fund and (b) passing these decisions on to the applicants;
	(2)  what the (a) target and (b) average time periods were in the last 12 months for which figures are available for (i) reaching decisions on reviews of unsuccessful applications for assistance from the Social Fund and (ii) passing these decisions to applicants, broken down by departmental sub-region.

Chris Pond: If a person is dissatisfied with their Social Fund decision, they may apply for a review of that decision; in the first instance reviews are carried out locally by a reviewing officer. If the applicant is still unhappy with the decision, they may apply for a further review by an independent Social Fund Inspector.
	While there is no specific target for internal reviews of discretionary Social Fund decisions, Jobcentre Plus aim to reduce the average time taken to clear applications to 10 working days; all decision letters, irrespective of the outcome of the decision, are sent by first class mail.
	As a result of staffing problems, arrears of work accrued over a period of some months in the Birmingham, Northfield office. Additional resource has been allocated to clear the backlog, and this should be achieved before the end of the year.
	
		Average clearance times for reviews by Social Fund Reviewing Officers in days for April to September 2003
		
			  Great Britain Birmingham, Northfield 
		
		
			 Community Care Grants 17.6 28.2 
			 Budgeting Loans 16.3 17.6 
			 Crisis Loans 11.3 2.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data to answer both questions from the same source is available only from April 2003
	2. Social Fund data is not at present available by Government Office Region, but will be from the completion of the migration of work to Jobcentre Plus Districts.
	3. For grants, the clearance time is defined as the time from receipt of the application to making the decision.
	4. For loans, the clearance time is defined as the time from receipt of the application to making the decision if an offer is not made or not responded to; if an offer is made, the clearance time is the time from receipt of the application to the decision to make an offer plus the time from the receipt of the accepted offer to the recording of that acceptance.
	5. When a Crisis Loan application is received and the offer of acceptance is recorded on the same day that counts as a clearance time of one day
	6. Clearance times are measured in whole working days, but the average clearance times have been given to one decimal place.
	7. In September 2002 the Birmingham Northfield Social Fund district amalgamated with other districts to become part of the Jobcentre Plus Birmingham and Solihull District.
	8. The area covered by the Birmingham, Northfield office is not co-terminus with the Birmingham Northfield parliamentary constituency.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions Central Data Unit Management Information.
	The operational performance of the Independent Review Service (IRS), an independent statutory body, is a matter for the Social Fund Commissioner who informs me that:
	The IRS time targets for reviews are absolute targets rather than average clearance targets. They are: Routine Cases—95 per cent. in 12 working days; Complex Cases—90 per cent. in 23 working days. Against these, in the last financial year the IRS achieved 98.1 per cent. and 94.8 per cent. respectively. For the purposes of responding to your questions, the information has been compiled by averages.
	For the 12-month period ending 30 September 2003, the average time periods for reviews dealt with by the IRS from Birmingham, Northfield were 12.99 days for community care grants; 11.5 days for crisis loans for items; 8.41 days for budgeting loans; and 1.59 hours for urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	For the 12-month period ending 30 September 2003, the national average time periods for reviews dealt with by the IRS were 12.4 days for community care grants; 11.35 days for crisis loans for items; 7.95 days for budgeting loans; and 4.75 hours for urgent crisis loans, such as those for living expenses (express cases), respectively.
	The IRS passed all decisions to applicants by first class post as soon as the decisions were completed. At the same time, the IRS passed a copy of the decisions to the Jobcentre Plus and they are responsible for making any payments that are due.
	Tables detailing the performance of the Independent Review Service, which show the average time periods by Government Office Region and Jobcentre Plus District, and show the average national, regional and district times for cases that fall within the IRS 12 and 23 day targets have been placed in the Library.

State Pension

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners are in receipt of the state retirement pension in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table:
	
		The number of people in receipt of a State Pension as at 31 March 2003 in the Airdrie and Shotts Parliamentary Constituency
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Men 3,900 
			 Women 8,300 
			 Total 12,200 
		
	
	Source:IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent sample.Notes
	1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample

HEALTH

Genetically Modified Food

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what direct tests have been conducted on humans to determine whether the GM foods approved in Europe may be allergenic.

Melanie Johnson: Each genetically modified food approved to date in Europe has been assessed on a case-by-case basis. The assessment includes an evaluation of allergenicity in accordance with internationally agreed guidelines on testing of novel and genetically modified foods. Direct testing on human subjects is not part of this protocol.

Genetically Modified Food

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring of groups potentially vulnerable to the effects of consuming GM crops (a) has been undertaken and (b) is planned by the Government.

Melanie Johnson: Each genetically modified (GM) crop is assessed on a case-by-case basis. This includes a consideration of whether products from the crop, if approved, are suitable to be consumed by all sectors of the population. The Food Standards Agency has not therefore undertaken, nor is planning, any monitoring of groups potentially vulnerable to the effects of consuming GM crops.

Genetically Modified Food

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from companies on the proposed sale of genetically modified sweetcorn in supermarkets.

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency has not received any such representations on the proposed sale of genetically modified sweetcorn.

Genetically Modified Food

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has carried out on the safety of genetically modified sweetcorn.

Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) funds two extensive research programmes that underpin the safety assessment of genetically modified foods. The FSA does not commission specific research into the safety of individual genetically modified foods that are being proposed for authorisation.

Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the benefits of medical experiments on primates, particularly in relation to (i) the prediction of side effects, (ii) the alternative of non-invasive techniques, (iii) vitro studies and (iv) computer simulations designed to mimic human metabolism; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated any recent research on the benefits of using non-human primates in scientific procedures. The Animal Procedures Committee, which advises the Home Secretary on matters concerned with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, published a report in July 2003 on the use of primates in scientific research. The report recommends that the Government should convene a stakeholders' forum on the care and use of primates in experiments, to progress the issues raised in the report. The Government have agreed that a forum should be set up. Every effort will continue to be required to minimise primate use and find alternatives where practicable.

"Choice, Responsiveness and Equity"

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which patients' organisations were sent the consultation document, "Choice, Responsiveness and Equity", and when; and if he will make a statement on the time taken from publication to writing to hon. Members on 21 October to inform them of the consultation.

John Hutton: Dissemination of the consultation support pack to patient organisations, and others, has been ongoing since publication on 1 September 2003. A list of patients' organisations that we have contacted directly has been placed in the Library. When the House returned in October, I sent right hon. and hon. Members a summary of the consultation document that we had developed following requests from local organisations to support their local events.

Accident and Emergency Admissions

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of admissions to accident and emergency is directly related to the individual's use of alcohol.

Melanie Johnson: The Government's latest estimate of the proportion of alcohol-related attendances at accident and emergency was prepared by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's strategy unit as part of their project to develop an Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. This work indicated that 41 per cent. of all accident and emergency attendances were alcohol related, rising to 70 per cent. between midnight and five a.m. on Saturday night.
	These estimates were prepared using specially commissioned research, and were published as part of the strategy unit's interim analysis on the harms associated with alcohol misuse on 19 September 2003.Agency Staff

Agency Staff

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of (a) agency nurses and (b) agency doctors has been to the NHS in London in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The table shows expenditure for the six financial years, 1997–98 to 2002–03, on agency nurses 1 and agency doctors 2 for the health authorities, national health service trusts and primary care trusts within the London region.
	The NHS is now treating more patients then ever before and this increase in activity is reflected in greater spending on agency staff in the NHS.
	
		Expenditure on agency nurses (51) and agency doctors (52) in London, 1997–98 to 2002–03 -- £
		
			  Agency nurses (51) expenditure Agency doctors (52) expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 111,628,043 22,363,331 
			 1998–99 130,573,228 22,900,245 
			 1999–2000 180,665,901 22,902,621 
			 2000–01 202,308,850 32,234,187 
			 2001–02 229,288,793 46,761,800 
			 2002–03 220,780,586 66,811,064 
		
	
	(51) 'Agency nurses'—non NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff.
	(52) 'Agency doctors'—non NHS medical staff.
	Note:
	2002–03 data are provisional.
	Sources:
	1. Annual Financial Returns of Health Authorities—1997–98 to 2001–03.
	2. Annual Financial Returns of NHS Trusts—1997–98 to 2002–03.
	3. Annual Financial Returns of Primary Care Trusts—2000–01 to 2002–03.

Alcohol Strategy

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in respect of the cost of alcohol abuse to the national health service; and when he expects to publish his Alcohol Strategy.

Melanie Johnson: The Government's latest estimate of the costs accruing to the national health service as a result of alcohol misuse was prepared by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's strategy unit as part of their project to develop a alcohol harms reduction strategy for England. The strategy unit's interim analytical report on the harms associated with alcohol misuse, which was published on 19 September 2003, indicated that costs to the health service in England lay between £1.4 billion and £1.7 billion. These estimates were prepared using both existing and specially commissioned research.
	The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England will be published in and implemented from 2004, in line with the commitment given by the Government in the NHS Plan.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: None.

Cancer

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained cancer specialists are practising in England; how many cancer specialist students began training in each year since 1997; how many cancer specialists qualified in each year since 1997; and what his assessment is of the optimum number of cancer specialists required by the national health service.

John Hutton: As at 30 June 2003, there were 4,096 consultants in the cancer specialties (trained cancer specialists) working in the national health service in England.
	As undergraduates, medical students do not undertake training in specific specialties, their medical training is of a general nature at this stage of their course. Specialty specific training begins in hospital at postgraduate level. Information on the number of doctors beginning and completing speciality training each year is not collected centrally.
	The number of postgraduate doctors in training and consultants in the cancer specialties for each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS) StaffConsultants and Doctors in training in cancer specialities -- England, as at 30 SeptemberNumber (headcount)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 March 2002 2002 March 2003 June 2003 
		
		
			 Consultants 3,155 3,273 3,362 3,528 3,721 3,864 3,913 4,059 4,096 
			 Doctors in training 1,531 1,622 1,799 1,896 2,111 — 2,281 — — 
			   
			 Of which:  
			 Senior House Officer 332 346 375 375 423 — 449 — — 
			 House Officer 20 22 22 42 21 — 23 — — 
			 Registrar Group 1,179 1,254 1,402 1,479 1,667 — 1,809 — — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Cancer specialties includes Clinical Oncology, Clinical Radiology, Haematology, Histopathology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Medicine.
	2. Doctors in training data was not collected in the March or June 2003 mini census.
	Source:
	Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.
	The Cancer Plan gives a commitment to increase the number of cancer consultants working in the NHS by 1,000 by 2006.
	Since 1999 the number of cancer consultants has increased by 734, or 22 per cent. This means that the NHS is on track to hit the Cancer Plan target. The National Cancer Director works closely with cancer networks, professional organisations and workforce development confederations to ensure that national decisions about workforce planning reflect the needs of the service.

Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ring-fence spending for cancer services.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 13 November 2003
	We do not believe ring-fencing money for a specific programme is the way forward. Our overall approach is to set a national strategic direction, underpinned by targets and to devolve greater freedom to front line staff and organisations to give them the freedom to innovate and improve care for patients based on local needs and circumstances.
	On 22 May 2003 the National Clinical Director for Cancer published a report that showed that the new money for cancer services announced as part of the NHS Cancer Plan is reaching those services.
	On 28 October 2003, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, announced that this tracking exercise would be repeated for cancer funding allocated in 2003–04.

Cancer

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of cancer patients received their first definitive treatment within 62 days of referral in each month of the last three years, broken down by cancer type.

Melanie Johnson: The NHS Cancer Plan sets out our strategy to reduce waiting times for cancer patients. A maximum two-month wait from urgent referral to treatment was introduced for breast cancer in December 2002. Data on performance of this target are collected quarterly and were first published for quarter one, 2003–04 (Apr—Jun 2003), where 97 per cent. of women received their treatment within a month of urgent referral. This target will be in place for all other urgent cases of cancer by 2005. Targets of one month from urgent referral to first treatment were introduced in 2001 for testicular cancer, acute leukaemia and children's cancers. Data on NHS Cancer Plan waiting times targets are published on the Department's website at: www.doh.aov.uk/cancerwaits.

Cancer

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated by his Department to cancer prevention in each of the last three years; and how much was spent in each year.

Melanie Johnson: The Department funds an extensive health improvement and prevention programme aimed chiefly at preventing cancer and coronary heart disease, which are the two main causes of mortality. Funding for programmes on tobacco control and smoking cessation, improving nutrition and diet and increasing physical activity all contribute not only to cancer prevention, but also to preventing coronary heart disease. It is not possible to identify the amount of funding in these programmes that contributes solely to cancer prevention.

Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to establish dedicated Positron Emission Tomography camera facilities to diagnose lung cancer and evaluate the success of treatment in sites across all strategic health authorities.

Melanie Johnson: We are aware of the potential benefits Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning can offer patients with lung cancer. The Department is working with national health service specialised commissioners, the PET clinical community and research stakeholders to create a framework to enable the NHS to develop a clear national policy position. This will set out, from the evidence, which tumour groups would benefit from PET scanning, likely future demand, and the optimal configuration and location of PET scanners.

Cardiology

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained cardiologists are practising in England; how many cardiology students began training in each year since 1997; how many cardiologists qualified in each year since 1997; and what assessment he has made of the optimum number of cardiologists required by the National Health Service.

John Hutton: As at 30 June 2003, there were 618 consultants in cardiology (trained cardiologists) working in the National Health Service in England.
	As undergraduates, medical students do not undertake training in specific specialities, their medical training is of a general nature at this stage of their course. Specialty specific training begins in hospital at postgraduate level. Information on the number of doctors beginning and completing specialty training each year is not collected centrally. The number of postgraduate doctors in training and consultants in cardiology in each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS) Staff Consultants and Doctors in training in cardiology -- England, as at 30 SeptemberNumbers (headcount)
		
			  March June 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2003 
		
		
			 Consultants 405 458 467 546 576 609 607 618 
			 Doctors in training 540 607 589 612 609 700 n/a n/a 
			 of whom 
			 Senior House Officer 192 218 210 223 210 255 n/a n/a 
			 House Officer 32 38 40 45 54 53 n/a n/a 
			 Registrar Group 316 351 339 344 345 392 n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	Source:
	Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census
	Doctors in training data was not collected in the March or June 2003 mini census
	The coronary heart disease care group workforce team advises on workforce requirements to deliver the CHD national service framework and NHS Plan. It is required to make annual recommendations to the workforce numbers advisory board. In its 2003 report, it recommended that there was a need to continue to substantially increase the number of cardiologists. Future growth requirements are being refined and will depend on growth in activity demands and on changes in clinical practice and ways of working.

Care Homes

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) demand for and (b) supply of places in residential homes and nursing homes in England; and what forecast he has made of change in (i) demand and (ii) supply in the next 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible, and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Care Homes

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) residential, (b) nursing and (c) elderly mentally infirm (i) homes and (ii) places were available in London in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (A) local authority, (B) private sector and (C) charity and voluntary providers; and what percentage of capacity in each sector was used in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: Tables 1 and 2 show the number of residential and nursing homes and places in London at 31 March for the years 1993 to 2001 by sector. Tables 3 and 4 show the number of homes and places in care homes for elderly mentally infirm people. Data are not available for the percentage of capacity used each year.
	The National Care Standards Commission has collected figures for later years but comparable details broken down by region are not available.
	
		Number of care homes in London, by type of accommodation31 March 1993–2001
		
			  Residential homes Nursing homes (53) 
			  LA Voluntary Private Small (54) Independent 
		
		
			 2001 241 749 564 685 548 
			 2000 268 737 589 630 548 
			 1999 274 737 601 626 554 
			 1998 296 710 605 640 520 
			 1997 299 730 588 596 374 
			 1996 347 636 539 567 348 
			 1995 348 609 532 489 395 
			 1994 363 577 506 368 396 
			 1993 386 581 492 (55) 332 
		
	
	(53) Includes dual registered homes
	(54) Independent registered care homes with less than 4 places, required to register from 1 April 1993
	(55) Data are not available
	Source:DH forms RA Part A, RAC5, KO36 and RH(N) Part A.
	
		Number of care home places in London, by type of accommodation 31 March 1993-2001
		
			  Residential homes Nursing homes (56) 
			  LA Voluntary Private Small (57) Dual Registered(58) Independent 
		
		
			 2001 5,412 10,638 9,156 1,699 2,437 18,084 
			 2000 6,354 10,464 9,310 1,519 2,493 18,290 
			 1999 6,693 10,013 9,364 1,551 1,904 18,257 
			 1998 7,744 9,619 9,533 1,658 1,647 17,750 
			 1997 8,170 9,960 9,389 1,489 964 12,388 
			 1996 9,468 9,234 8,455 1,390 1,282 10,694 
			 1995 9,980 9,249 8,307 1,195 1,176 12,719 
			 1994 10,870 9,027 8,078 899 1,298 12,538 
			 1993 11,829 9,406 7,914 n/a 1,020 11,305 
		
	
	(56) Includes nursing places in dual registered homes.
	(57) Independent registered care homes with less than 4 places, required to register from 1 April 1993.
	(58) Residential places that are in dual registered homes.
	n/a Data are not available.
	Source:
	DH forms RA Part A, RAC5, KO36 and RH(N) Part A
	
		Number of elderly mentally infirm(59) homes in London, by type of accommodation 31 March 1993–2001
		
			  LA Voluntary Private Registered (61) Small (60) Nursing 
		
		
			 2001 14 9 33 7 39 n/a 
			 2000 16 10 31 7 13 n/a 
			 1999 13 15 23 2 17 n/a 
			 1998 16 30 51 6 20 n/a 
			 1997 20 12 20 6 32 n/a 
			 1996 15 5 13 0 n/a n/a 
			 1995 14 5 13 0 n/a n/a 
			 1994 13 3 13 0 n/a n/a 
			 1993 14 3 17 0 n/a n/a 
		
	
	(59) Homes that cater primarily for elderly mentally infirm people.
	(60) Independent registered care homes with less than 4 places, required to register from 1 April 1993.
	(61) Homes that have registered for both residential and nursing care
	n/a Data are not available.
	Source:
	DH forms RA Part A and RAC5.
	
		Number of elderly mentally infirm (62) home places in London, by type of accommodation 31 March 1993 -2001
		
			  LA Voluntary Private Dual Registered (64) Small (63) Nursing 
		
		
			 2001 525 270 670 269 110 n/a 
			 2000 556 313 629 259 37 n/a 
			 1999 436 433 564 106 43 n/a 
			 1998 616 876 890 188 58 n/a 
			 1997 692 282 389 147 102 n/a 
			 1996 430 136 290 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1995 402 119 265 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1994 399 72 280 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1993 411 85 363 n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	(62) Homes that that cater primarily for elderly mentally infirm people.
	(63) Independent registered care homes with less than 4 places, required to register from 1 April 1993.
	(64) Residential places in homes registered for both nursing and residential care.
	n/a Data are not available
	Source
	DH forms RA Part A and RAC5.

Care Homes

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care home places were available in (a) Birmingham and (b) West Midlands in each of the last six years run by the (i) local authority, (ii) voluntary sector and (iii) private sector.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of care home places available in Birmingham and West Midlands, broken down by type of accommodation, as at 31 March for the years 1998 to 2001.
	The National Care Standards Commission has collected figures for later years but comparable details broken down by local authority and region are not available.
	
		Number of care home places in Birmingham and West Midlands by type of accommodation -- As at 31 March 1998–2001Rounded numbers
		
			  Residential homes Nursing homes (65)  
			  Local authority Voluntary Private Dual registered (66) Small (67) Independent Total places 
		
		
			  
			 Birmingham
			 1998 1,450 1,560 2,350 130 400 2,930 8,820 
			 1999 1,460 1,420 2,390 100 400 3,010 8,780 
			 2000 1,340 870 2,940 140 370 2,940 8,600 
			 2001 1,320 740 2,920 190 340 2,890 8,400 
			  West Midlands   
			 1998 8,100 5,680 17,540 2,360 1,860 20,650 56,190 
			 1999 7,420 5,540 16,000 2,460 1,910 21,510 54,840 
			 2000 6,400 5,340 16,300 2,760 1,700 20,420 52,920 
			 2001 6,050 5,180 16,130 3,100 1,630 20,040 52,130 
		
	
	(65) Includes places in nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics and nursing care places in homes registered for both nursing and residential care.
	(66) Residential places in homes registered for both nursing and residential care.
	(67) Independent registered care homes with less than four places.
	Source:
	RA Form A and RH(N) Form A.

Care Homes

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he collates on staff turnover in (a) nursing homes and (b) residential care homes for elderly people in (i) the public sector, (ii) the voluntary sector and (iii) the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not collect information on staff turnover. Information is available from the 2002 Social Services Workforce Analysis, conducted by the Employers' Organisation on behalf of the Social Care and Health Workforce Group. This data is soon to be published and will be placed in the Library.

Care Homes

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspections and approvals have been undertaken of (a) residential care homes, (b) nursing care homes, (c) residential care home managers and (d) nursing care home managers since the National Care Standards Commission was established; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Number of inspections and approvals between 1 April 2002 and18 November 2003
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Approvals (registrations)  
			 Care homes with personal care (inc. non-medical) 19,223 
			 Care homes with nursing care 1,137 
			 Inspections (announced and un-announced)  
			 Care homes with personal care (inc. non-medical) 31,627 
			 Care homes with nursing care 9,582 
		
	
	Note:
	Only homes which have an approved registered manager are registered and entered into the service register.

Care Homes

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many managers of nursing care homes assessed by the National Care Standards Commission since its inception, had (a) at least first level registered nurse qualifications and (b) no nursing qualifications;
	(2)  how many nursing care homes have published their registered managers' qualifications and experience since the National Care Standards Commission was established;
	(3)  how many (a) requests of statement of purpose have been refused by nursing care homes and (b) residents' care plans of nursing care homes have been assessed and approved since the National Care Standards Commission was established.

Stephen Ladyman: The National Care Standards Commission does not record this information on its central registration and inspection database.

Care Homes

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of (a) the number of residents and (b) the ratio of nurses to residents in nursing care homes in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The estimated number of occupied beds in nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics in England in 2000–01 was 152,100 beds.
	The table shows the number of occupied nursing beds per nurse in England in 2000–01.
	
		Number of occupied nursing beds (68) per nurse: England 2000–01
		
			  Occupied beds 
		
		
			 Qualified (69) Nursing staff  
			 Number 2.2 
			 Whole-time equivalent 3.1 
			 All(70) nursing staff  
			 Number 0.9 
			 Whole-time equivalent 1.1 
		
	
	(68) Figures refer to beds in nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics including those intended for children or maternity usage.
	(69) Qualified nursing staff includes all staff with nursing qualifications, but not those with NVQs.
	(70) All nursing staff includes Care Assistants.
	Source:
	(RH(N)

Childhood Obesity

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into the effect on childhood obesity of access to healthy foods.

Melanie Johnson: The Department carries out research and development activity related to diet, nutrition, physical activity and obesity, including the recently completed research initiative on nutrition funded through the Department's policy research programme. Research includes the systematic reviews about the uptake of physical activity and healthy eating by children and young adults.
	As part of the Five-a-Day programme, research was undertaken to test the feasibility and practicalities of evidence-based community approaches to improve access to fruit and vegetables. Evaluation of the National School Fruit Scheme will also assess the impact on children's diet.

Childhood Obesity

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been treated by the NHS in each of the last 10 years for illnesses (a) directly caused by and (b) aggravated by childhood obesity.

Melanie Johnson: The number of finished in-year admission episodes for 0–15 years old children in National Health Service hospitals over the last 10 years, where obesity is the primary diagnosis, is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Number of finished in-year episodes 
		
		
			 1992–93 215 
			 1993–94 190 
			 1994–95 121 
			 1995–96 166 
			 1996–97 151 
			 1997–98 164 
			 1998–99 211 
			 1999–2000 219 
			 2000–01 232 
			 2001–02 239 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Chiropody

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost of compiling the KT23 chiropody statistics was in 2002;
	(2)  which organisations were consulted on the proposed abolition of the annual KT23 chiropody statistics; and, of those consulted, which were (a) in favour of abolition and (b) opposed to it;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on the future of KT23 chiropody statistics.

Stephen Ladyman: As part of the initiative to reduce the burden of bureaucracy on the national health service, the need for all departmental returns, including the KT23 chiropody statistics return, is being re-examined. An internal review is currently in progress. No decision has yet been made with regard to the KT23 return. In the event of a recommendation to amend or abolish the return, formal consultation with interested parties, including the relevant professional organisations, would take place before final decisions were taken.
	Information about the cost of compiling the KT23 chiropody statistics is not available centrally.

Chiropody

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of variations in provision of NHS (a) chiropody and (b) podiatry in different regions of England;
	(2)  what plans he has to encourage the greater use of podiatric surgeons; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: It is for primary care trusts to assess the health needs of their local community, and the need for particular services in their locality, and to make such arrangements as they consider appropriate using the resources which are made available to them for this purpose.

Chiropody

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the long-term health impacts of discharging NHS (a) chiropody and (b) podiatry patients who are deemed to be low risk.

Stephen Ladyman: It is for clinicians in the first instance to assess and take account of the clinical implications of their decisions.

Computer Games

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contracts his Department has awarded to external computer game companies broken down by (a) the company to which the contract was awarded and (b) the date and total cost of the contract; what the purpose was of each contract; what has been delivered to date on each contract; and what remains to be delivered.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not awarded any contracts to external computer game companies.

Condover Hall School

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what health care support services are given to children attending Condover Hall School, Shropshire;
	(2)  if he will estimate the cost of upgrading the building of Condover Hall School to meet national care standards;
	(3)  what assessment has been undertaken of the effect on the mental health of children at Condover Hall School of its closure;
	(4)  what the total health care cost to public funds was of children attending Condover Hall School in 2002–03;
	(5)  if he will make a statement on the compliance of Condover Hall School with the National Care Standards.

Margaret Hodge: Non-maintained special schools such as Condover Hall have a general duty in law to supervise and care for the health of their pupils. The school must employ or otherwise secure the attendance of suitably qualified people, including professionals with expertise and experience relevant to the individual health needs of the children there.
	Health care will be provided either by the Primary Care Trust (PCT) local to the school or by the child's "home" PCT, contracting with a NHS Trust providing community child health services where necessary. It is not possible to specify the health care support services received by pupils at Condover Hall School, since these will depend on each child's health needs. However, part of the school's continuing duty towards the health of its pupils is to arrange with the Primary Care Trust for periodic medical and dental inspections and for any treatment that may be needed.
	Given that health care costs will be dependent on the health needs of each child it is not possible to make overall calculations of the health care costs of children attending Condover Hall School. My Department does not keep central records of the health needs of individual children in schools, including Non-maintained Special Schools; that is the responsibility of each individual school.
	Condover Hall School offers 52 week per year placements to pupils and is therefore required to register as a Children's Home with the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). We understand from the Shrewsbury office of the NCSC that Condover Hall School was inspected at the end of April 2003 and that the report has not yet been finalised. It is, therefore, not possible for me to comment on the school's compliance with the National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes.
	As the controlling charity, the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) would have responsibility for any assessment regarding the impact of the school's closure on pupils' mental health. I understand that RNIB have carried out a full consultation with pupils, parents and staff regarding their plans to close the school.

Consultant Appointments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average waiting time for a first consultant appointment in London in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The average waiting times for first consultant outpatient appointments following general/dental practitioner written referral in London since 1997 is shown in the table. Progress on reducing maximum waiting times do not necessarily translate into a reduction in the median waiting time, because of shifts in low waiting time bands. Over this period the number of people in London waiting over 26 weeks for their first outpatient appointment fell from 15,100 at end March 1997 to 6 at end March 2003. The equivalent figures for England are over 70,000 to 18 (counting only patients that are the responsibility of NHS Commissioners).
	
		Waiting times for 1st consultant outpatient appointment following G(D)P referral: London
		
			 Year Median Waiting time (weeks) 
		
		
			  
			 1996–97 6.1 
			 1 997–98 6.3 
			 1998–99 6.9 
			 1 999–2000 7.4 
			 2000–01 7.2 
			 2001–02 7.3 
			 2002–03 7.5 
		
	
	Notes
	1. Data pre 2002/3 is based on London Regional Office boundaries, data for 2002/3 is based on
	London strategic health authority boundaries
	2. The medians in the table are based on aggregate data, categorised into waiting time bands,
	and do not reflect shifts in the waiting time profiles within these bands, only between bands.
	Source:
	Department of Health form QM08

Consultant Appointments

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 214W, on consultant numbers, exactly how many consultants were planned in the substantial expansion; and exactly how many more new consultants the NHS Plan target provided.

John Hutton: Subject to the necessary resources becoming available, the National Health Service was aiming to provide around 5,000 additional consultants between 1999 and 2004. The NHS Plan put in place the necessary funds and plans to deliver up to 7,500 new consultants between 1999 and 2004.
	A range of initiatives has addressed the need for additional growth to achieve this target, including: speeding up specialist registrar to consultant conversion, encouraging the NHS to become a more flexible and diverse employer, increasing investment in training, investing in child care, attracting back returners and running national and international recruitment campaigns.

Contingency Planning

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards (a) vaccinating 350 health care staff in the UK against smallpox and (b) the other measures outlined in the written statement of 2nd December 2002 on contingency planning.

John Hutton: To date, 280 frontline healthcare workers across the United Kingdom have been vaccinated with the smallpox vaccine.
	Implementation of the smallpox interim guidelines is being co-ordinated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) regional leads. The HPA has established interim guidelines and on existing local emergency plans and arrangements.
	Smallpox vaccine stocks have been substantially increased with the announcement of the Government's intention to secure a contract with Aventis Pasteur in June this year. This means that we have sufficient stocks to vaccinate the whole of the UK, if needed, with new second generation, cell-derived smallpox vaccine.

Dementia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of the anti-dementia drug Ebixa.

Stephen Ladyman: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) will appraise Memantine (Ebixa), for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia, as part of the eighth wave of its work programme. The anticipated publication date of its recommendations is May 2005.
	Until NICE has made its recommendations it is for local areas to make decisions about availability on the national health service having taken account of published evidence.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the mean number of decayed, filled and missing teeth for five-year-old children in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years.

Rosie Winterton: The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry carry out a survey every second year of dental caries among five-year-old children.
	Information showing the average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth in children aged five in England, by region and health authority in 1997–98 and 1999–2000 and by region and strategic health authority for 2001–02, has been placed in the Library.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of five-year-old children had no caries in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years.

Rosie Winterton: The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry carry out a survey every second year of dental caries among five-year-old children. The information showing the percentage of five-year-old children with no caries in England, by region and health authority in 1997–98 and 1999–2000 and by strategic health authority for 2001–02, has been placed in the Library.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) mean and (b) maximum waiting times for elective admissions for dental treatment were in (i) England and (ii) each region in each of the last six years.

John Hutton: The table shows the number of patients waiting over 12 months for elective inpatient admission in dentistry specialties (oral surgery, restorative dentistry, paediatric dentistry and orthodontics) and the average waiting times for those specialties.
	
		Patients waiting for elective admission for dentistry specialties(71)
		
			 England/Region/Strategic HealthAuthority Patients waiting over 12 months Median waiting times (months) 
		
		
			 March 1997–98   
			 England 3,397 3.4 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 132 3.2 
			 Trent 262 3.1 
			 West Midlands 29 2.8 
			 North West 176 2.8 
			 Eastern 966 4.4 
			 London 816 4.4 
			 South East 817 3.7 
			 South West 199 2.7 
			  
			 March 1998–99   
			 England 1,654 2.8 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 11 2.7 
			 Trent 140 2.8 
			 West Midlands 42 2.5 
			 North West 172 2.5 
			 Eastern 468 3.1 
			 London 428 3.1 
			 South East 340 3.3 
			 South West 53 2.4 
			
			 March 1999–00   
			 England 943 2.5 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 11 2.3 
			 Trent 102 2.7 
			 West Midlands 10 2.3 
			 North West 116 2.3 
			 Eastern 202 2.6 
			 London 236 2.5 
			 South East 206 2.6 
			 South West 60 2.4 
			  
			 March 2000–01   
			 England 683 2.3 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 0 2.2 
			 Trent 3 2.2 
			 West Midlands 11 2.2 
			 North West 87 2.2 
			 Eastern 124 2.4 
			 London 175 2.3 
			 South East 181 2.3 
			 South West 102 2.2 
			  
			 March 2001-02   
			 England 235 2.2 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 0 2.2 
			 Trent 1 2.1 
			 West Midlands 5 2.1 
			 North West 44 2.2 
			 Eastern 38 2.2 
			 London 44 2.1 
			 South East 78 2.4 
			 South West 25 2.2 
			 March 2002–03   
			 England 0 2.3 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 0 2.3 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 0 2.6 
			 Essex HA 0 2.3 
			 North West London HA 0 2.4 
			 North Central London HA 0 2.2 
			 North East London HA 0 2.4 
			 South East London HA 0 2.1 
			 South West London HA 0 2.1 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 0 2.0 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 0 1.9 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 0 2.1 
			 West Yorkshire HA 0 2.9 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 0 2.2 
			 Greater Manchester HA 0 2.1 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside HA 0 2.2 
			 Thames Valley HA 0 2.6 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight HA 0 2.4 
			 Kent and Medway HA 0 2.2 
			 Surrey and Sussex HA 0 2.5 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 0 2.3 
			 South West Peninsula HA 0 2.3 
			 Somerset and Dorset HA 0 1.8 
			 South Yorkshire HA 0 2.2 
			 Trent HA 0 2.2 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 0 2.2 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 0 2.4 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country HA 0 2.1 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 0 2.0 
			  
			 September 2003–04   
			 England(72) 0 2.4 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 0 2.4 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 0 2.5 
			 Essex HA 0 2.4 
			 North West London HA 0 2.4 
			 North Central London HA 0 2.7 
			 North East London HA 0 2.4 
			 South East London HA 0 2.5 
			 South West London HA 0 2.2 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 0 2.5 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 0 2.2 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 0 2.3 
			 West Yorkshire HA 0 3.2 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 0 2.1 
			 Greater Manchester HA(72) 0 2.2 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside HA(72) 0 2.2 
			 Thames Valley HA 0 2.5 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight HA 0 2.8 
			 Kent and Medway HA 0 2.1 
			 Surrey and Sussex HA 0 2.5 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 0 2.6 
			 South West Peninsula HA 0 2.4 
			 Somerset and Dorset HA 0 2.0 
			 South Yorkshire HA 0 2.2 
			 Trent HA 0 2.3 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 0 2.3 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 0 2.3 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country HA 0 2.0 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 0 2.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form QF01.
	Note:
	(71) Dentistry specialties include oral surgery, restorative dentistry, paediatric dentistry and orthodontics.
	(72) Data is incomplete for September 2003 due to issues arising in Cheshire and Merseyside HA, this may affect data for England, Greater Manchester HA and Cheshire and Merseyside HA.
	Data prior to 2002/3 is based on England and Regional Office area, after that it is based on England and Strategic Health Authority.

Dentistry

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effects of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill on dentistry patients.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to rebuilding and restoring national health service dentistry to improve the oral health of the nation. The proposals in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, currently before Parliament, represent the most radical reform of NHS dentistry since 1948. Proposals in the Bill will underpin a modernised high-quality primary dental service properly integrated with the rest of the NHS, providing better access and improved patient experience.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) will have a duty to secure the provision of primary dental services to meet all reasonable requirements either through contracts with individual practices or by providing services themselves. PCTs will have a duty to publish information about the primary dental services for which it makes provision. With these new responsibilities will go the £1.2 billion financial resources currently held centrally so that the NHS can secure services locally and develop them in line with local needs.
	PCTs will be given directly conferred functions in relation to dental public health, including oral health promotion, surveys and school screening to make a real contribution to reducing oral health inequalities in relation to specific conditions or client groups.
	PCTs will be able to commission specialist dental services, such as orthodontics or minor oral surgery from experienced "'high street" dentists operating in readily accessible settings, located for the convenience of patients.
	Under proposals in the Bill, dental charges will no longer be related to the dentists' remuneration. The new arrangements will apply nationally and are intended to ensure there is greater clarity about the cost of treatment for both dentists and the public.

Diabetes

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that better information is provided to (a) general practitioners and (b) diabetic patients about (i) the effects of diabetes on safety when driving and (ii) the control of such effects.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Transport publishes a booklet called the "At a Glance Guide to Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive", which gives details of all the United Kingdom medical standards, including diabetes. This guide is now available for general consumption on the internet and is updated every six months following advice from the Secretary of State's honorary medical advisory panels.
	Amendments to the "At a Glance" guide are distributed to medical practitioners in hard copy form and can also be obtained on EMIS Knowledge-Based Systems (Egton Medical Information Systems), which is available in all general practitioners' surgeries.
	The document provides the basis on which members of the medical profession advise individuals on whether any particular condition could affect their driving entitlement.

Diet and Nutrition

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will break down by sex the percentages of children who were found by the most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey to be consuming less than the lower reference nutrient intake for (a) calcium, (b) magnesium and (c) vitamin A.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Percentage consuming below lower reference nutrient intake
		
			  Age Boys Girls 
		
		
			 Calcium 4–6 years 3 2 
			  7–10 years 2 5 
			  11–14 years 12 24 
			  15–18 9 19 
			 Magnesium 4–6 years 3 1 
			  7–10 years 2 5 
			  11–14 years 28 51 
			  15–18 years 18 53 
			 Vitamin A 4–6 years 8 6 
			  7–10 years 9 10 
			  11–14 years 13 20 
			  15–18 years 12 12 
		
	
	Source:
	NDNS young people 4–18 years (1997).

Doctors' Conference

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the recent Doctors' Forum event held at the Novotel Hotel in Hammersmith; and what the (a) objectives and (b) programme for the event were.

John Hutton: The cost of the 2003 Improving Working Lives for Doctors' Conference was £125,000. The event was open to all doctors and to those working in national health service human resource departments as an opportunity to network and share good practice on progress towards our aim of improving the working lives of medical staff. The principal objective was to support our commitment to the development of well-managed, supportive and flexible working environments by showcasing achievements and providing an opportunity to discuss areas where more work is needed. The conference was also a platform to support and promote the work of the doctors' forum, which was established following the first IWL for doctors' conference in 2002. Those who were unable to attend the event can find out more from the summary information on the Department's website at: http://www.doh.gov.uk/conferences/improvingoct03.htm

Domiciliary Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the standards governing the delivery of domiciliary care for the elderly and the arrangements for monitoring compliance with them.

Stephen Ladyman: Regulations and National Minimum Standards governing domiciliary care were published in January 2003, to come into force from 1 April 2003. Their content followed wide consultation with groups representing service users, care providers, and local authorities. I am satisfied that they support good, professional practice.
	The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) is an independent inspection body. Its role is to ensure compliance with the regulations as part of the conditions for registration of domiciliary care agencies. From 1 April 2004, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) will take over this role. I am satisfied that the NCSC currently, and the CSCI from April 2004, have the powers they need to monitor compliance and to raise standards.

Drug Budgets

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in cost to the national health service drug budget resulting from the focus on priority therapeutic areas, as outlined in the new general practitioner contract.

John Hutton: The Quality and Outcomes Framework which is part of the new General Medical Services Contract is just one of a variety of related policy initiatives that will impact on the national health service drug budget in the future. The publication of national services frameworks and determinations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence are other examples. The NHS will take these and other factors into account when modelling future resource provision.

Drug Research

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the impact of implementing EU Directive 2001/20/EC on non-commercial drug research in the United Kingdom.

Melanie Johnson: As part of the consultations on the UK regulations, a partial regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was provided revealing potential increased costs. Universities, national health service trusts and charities were invited to submit estimates on recurring and non-recurring compliance costs for non-commercial trials. The comments received revealed the difficulty of estimating costs with so much uncertainty surrounding the Commission Directives.
	The Government have taken further steps to attempt to influence the Commission in its consideration of a Commission Directive on Good Clinical Practice and also in reviewing guidance that the Commission published earlier this year with a view to avoiding any unnecessary costs. This work is continuing.
	In another initiative designed to reduce the cost impact, the Department and the Medical Research Council are working with experts to find practical solutions to the issues identified in the partial impact assessment. Details of the project can be found at www.ncchta.org/eudirective/index.asp.
	Further information on the partial regulatory impact assessment and the proposed United Kingdom implementing regulations is available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) website at www.mhra.gov.uk and in the MHRA Consultative Documents: MLXs issued in 2003, MLX 287.

Drug/Alcohol Misuse

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the amount of Government funding for (a) drug misuse treatment and (b) alcohol misuse treatment in (i) England and (ii) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years.

Melanie Johnson: The pooled drug treatment budget was £195.7 million in 2002–03 and this increased to £243.6 million in 2003–04. It is estimated that the pooled treatment budget is matched with an additional 200 million of mainstream funding. Figures are not available prior to 2002–03 when the majority of drug treatment was funded through mainstreamed health monies.
	Figures are not available for each strategic health authority. However, the table shows pooled treatment budget allocations for each National Treatment Agency region.
	
		£ million
		
			 Region 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 London 43.80 55.20 
			 East Midlands 12.96 16.42 
			 West Midlands 19.20 24.61 
			 Eastern Region 17.15 20.07 
			 North East 11.72 14.87 
			 North West 25.90 32.93 
			 South East 25.44 29.23 
			 South West 15.47 18.19 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 19.57 24.57 
		
	
	Responsibility for funding alcohol treatment services lies with primary care trusts, who commission these services in line with local needs. The Department does not hold centrally collected information on expenditure on alcohol treatment services, but we estimate that around £95 million is spent annually on these services, with the bulk of this funding being drawn from Government sources.

Fluoridation

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research (a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from kidney disease;
	(2)  how much has been spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available on research (a) directly funded by the Department of Health and (b) funded through the Medical Research Council into the effects of fluoridation on people suffering from thyroid disease.

Melanie Johnson: The research we have commissioned has been on the general effects of fluoridation on health. "A Systematic Review of Fluoridation", carried out by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination of the University of York in the year 2000, cost £79,648.00 and the study of the bio-availability of fluoride, which has just been completed by the University of Newcastle, cost £47,934. In addition, the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook the study "Water Fluoridation and Health", which was published in 2002, under concordat arrangements with the Department. York identified three studies of goitre and two of cancer of the thyroid gland, none of which showed a statistically significant association with fluoridation. The MRC also noted that attention has been given to cancers of the stomach, kidney and thyroid, because fluoride is usually absorbed in the stomach and can be concentrated in the kidneys and thyroid, but concluded that,
	"the evidence available does not suggest that fluoridation of water increases the risk for cancer in general or for any particular type of cancer."

Foundation Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role he envisages for political parties in the elections to the governing boards of foundation hospital trusts.

John Hutton: None. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, as amended at Lords Report, includes a power that regulations may make provision as to the conduct of elections for membership of the board of governors of a national health service foundation trust. The regulations may include the obligations on nominees to declare their interests.

Foundation Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether limits to candidates' expenditure are to be imposed in the elections to the governing boards of foundation hospital trusts.

John Hutton: The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, as amended at Lords Report, includes a power that regulations may make provision as to the conduct of elections for membership of the board of governors of a national health service foundation trust. The regulations may cover election expenses and publicity.

Foundation Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from (a) NHS trusts and (b) others concerning the electoral systems which may be used in elections to the board of governors of NHS foundation trusts.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 18 November 2003
	None. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill now requires regulations to set out procedures for elections. While officials are in dialogue with national health service foundation trust applicants and expert bodies about how the secondary legislation might allow for elections to take place, we have not received any representations from NHS trusts or others suggesting electoral systems which may be used to elect members of an NHS foundation trust to its board of governors.

Foundation Trusts

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the proposed public register of members of an NHS foundation trust will allow for members to be listed as patients or carers.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 18 November 2003
	Subject to Parliament, it is the Government's intention that a national health service foundation trust would be allowed, but not required, to distinguish between members who are patients and those who are carers in the register of members.

General Practitioners

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his policy that the same value of minimum practice income guarantee should be offered to GPs if the number of patients on their rolls falls below the 2002–03 figures.

John Hutton: The minimum practice income guarantee will ensure that any gap between the global sum and the practice's previous income for global sum equivalent items will be met for as long as is necessary. Practices that have a lower global sum allocation than their previous income from global sum equivalent items will receive a correction factor to the value of this difference. The correction factor will be determined and fixed at the first quarter of 2004–05 and will continue to be paid on top of the global sum allocation for as long as is needed. It will be uplifted along with the uplifts in the global sum.
	A practice that has a falling list will continue to receive the correction factor as determined in the first quarter of 2004–05, but its calculated global sum allocation will fall as a result of the falling list size. This avoids the situation where a practice may be providing services to a small list, but is receiving income protection based on earnings received for providing services to a much larger list.

General Practitioners

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that the new GP funding formula will not result in less money than the previous formula being offered for general practitioners, with particular reference to GPs in Brent.

John Hutton: The new minimum practice income guarantee will ensure that practices do not lose out on their global sum allocation formula compared with their previous global sum equivalent income. This arrangement will remain in place for as long as is needed.
	Practices' global sum equivalent income will be calculated in the first quarter of 2004–05 and compared with the global sum allocation. If the global sum equivalent is higher than the global sum the practice will receive a correction factor to make good this difference. This correction factor will be paid monthly to practices for as long as is necessary.

General Practitioners

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to ensure that access to high-quality sexual health services is (a) made a priority and (b) resourced as part of the new general practitioner contract;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that general practitioners will meet the Level 1 and 2 service provision set out in the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV as part of the new general practitioner contract.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 18 November 2003
	"The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV" set out an increasing role for primary care services, recognising that general practice plays a crucial role in the delivery of sexual health services. The new general medical services contract includes a new patient services guarantee to ensure patients have access to at least the range of services they currently enjoy, with a guarantee that will see investment in primary care increase by one-third by 2005–06.
	All practices will provide essential services. Contraceptive services will be delivered as an additional service which practices have a preferential right to provide, and will normally do so.
	Patients will not only continue to receive a family planning service, including screening for sexually transmitted infections where necessary, but primary care trusts will also be able to commission more specialised sexual health services that conform with the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV.

General Practitioners

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that the new GP contract does not act as a financial disincentive for GPs to take on new patients.

John Hutton: The new general medical services contract aims to ensure that resources reflect more accurately a contractor's workload and the costs of delivering high quality care to the local population. Those general practitioners who choose to take on new patients will be properly rewarded for doing so.

Geriatricians

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) consultant geriatricians and (b) geriatricians below the level of consultant were employed in each NHS hospital trust in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: Information on consultants in geriatric medicine and geriatricians below the level of consultant who were employed in each national health service hospital trust in each year since 1997 has been placed in the Library.
	The number of consultants in geriatrics has increased by 25 per cent, between September 1997 and June 2003.

Health and Safety

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what help he is giving to local hospitals to achieve health and safety standards.

John Hutton: Compliance with health and safety legislation is the responsibility of National Health Service Trust Chief Executives and Boards.
	The Department of Health publishes health and safety guidance to aid NHS trusts in complying with current legislation. The Department will be publishing comprehensive new guidance in February 2004 and is currently consulting on the first national NHS occupational health and safety strategy.

Health Tourism

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the (a) extent and (b) cost of health tourism in England; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Officials in the Department of Health have been conducting a review of the operation of the National Health Service hospital charging arrangements for overseas visitors for some time, and a consultation exercise on proposed amendments to the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989 ended on 31 October. No specific external research was been commissioned as part of this review.
	NHS trusts are not required to submit data on the costs of providing treatment for overseas visitors, many of whom may well be entitled to free treatment under the provisions of the charging regulations.

Health Visitors

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the efficiency of health visitor services of health visitors serving (a) general practitioner surgeries and (b) geographical areas independent of GP surgeries.

John Hutton: It is for local organisations and health visiting teams to determine how they should best be deployed to meet local needs and circumstances. As primary care trusts have reviewed their services in the light of the national health visitor development programme and the primary care nursing framework, "Liberating the Talents", different models have emerged as most appropriate to the local situation. In some areas, health visitors have found that geographical working enables them to focus more readily on health determinants within the community and work with a range of partners to address these.
	Geographical working may be particularly appropriate in some inner city areas where a number of general practices serve the same geographical population. In other places, where the general practitioner practice population corresponds more readily to a geographical area, health visiting teams have valued the close relationship with other primary health care team members that attachment or alignment with general practice can bring.

Heroin

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been carried out to determine the effectiveness of buprenorphine in the treatment of heroin addiction.

Melanie Johnson: Buprenorphine has recently been established as a potential effective alternative substitution treatment for some patients by a number of studies, such as those concentrating on effective doses, including Johnson et al., 1995, Ling et al., 1998 and Strain et al., 1994. Specific differences from methadone have been highlighted in other studies, including Walsh et al., 1994, Reynaud et al., 1998, Bickel & Amass, 1995, Reisinger, 1997 and Barnett P. G. et al., 2001, and trials in Europe have been reviewed by Chapleo et al., 1997. Also, see Uehlinger, C et al., 1998 and Fischer, G et al. 1999 for published studies.
	The Cochrane review of buprenorphine maintenance for opioid dependence in August 2002 concluded, "Buprenorphine is an effective intervention for use in the maintenance treatment of heroin dependence, but it is not more effective than methadone at adequate dosages".

HIV/AIDS

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffered from HIV/AIDS in England in the last five years for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The annual survey of prevalent HIV infections diagnosed collates data on individuals who attend statutory services for HIV-related treatment and care each year. The annual totals for England for the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		HIV/AIDS: Annual total for England for the last five years
		
			  Prevalent diagnosed cases 
		
		
			 1998 16,306 
			 1999 18,392 
			 2000 20,855 
			 2001 24,269 
			 2002 29,044 
		
	
	Source
	Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Health Protection Agency.

HIV/AIDS

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources his Department has allocated to HIV/AIDS (a) treatment and (b) prevention in financial year 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health no longer holds central records of the resources allocated to HIV treatment and prevention by primary care trusts (PCTs). The last year for which this data was available was 2001–02, when £276 million was allocated for HIV treatment and care, and £55 million for HIV prevention. From 1 April 2002 the ring-fence was removed from these allocations and they were added to National Health Service baselines, allowing PCTs the flexibility to determine spending priorities for maximum effectiveness.
	In addition to the significant amount of work commissioned and funded at local level, national targeted HIV prevention work for those groups most at risk of infection is undertaken by the Department through contracts with voluntary sector organisations, to the value of almost £4 million (including helpline provision) in 2003–04.

Home Care Services

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people within the London Borough of Havering in receipt of home care services provided by the council were charged for those services in the (a) 12 months before and (b) after the introduction of Department of Health guidance, "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care";
	(2)  if he will assess the impact of Department of Health guidance, "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care", on service users within the London Borough of Havering; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Information is not held centrally on the number of people within the London Borough of Havering, who were in receipt of home care services and were charged in the 12 months before and after the introduction of the guidance "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care" and other non-residential Social Services. The impact of the Department of Health guidance on the London Borough of Havering's charging policies is a matter for the local council to assess.
	The Department of Health issued statutory guidance to local councils for home care charges in November 2001. This guidance does not seek to change councils' power to charge, or not, but seeks to ensure that, where council's do charge, this will be based on fairer well designed charging policies. An important principle of the guidance is that charges should not reduce a person's income below basic levels of income support or the guarantee credit of pension credit plus a 25 per cent, buffer.

Hospital Beds

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general and (b) acute beds were open overnight in each English region in each of the last 10 years;

John Hutton: holding answer 10 November2003
	The NHS Plan set a target of 2,100 extra general and acute beds. By 2002–03, an additional 1,600 were in place representing over three quarters of the target set out in the NHS Plan.
	Information on the number of available beds by ward classification is collected from each National Health Service trust. An available bed is one that is open and staffed at midnight. Figures for beds in wards classified as acute and geriatric (general) for England for the last ten years are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Acute Geriatric 
		
		
			 1993–94 109,713 37,440 
			 1994–95 108,008 36,795 
			 1995–96 108,296 34,328 
			 1996–97 108,869 31,646 
			 1997–98 107,807 30,240 
			 1998–99 107,729 28,697 
			 1999–00 107,218 27,862 
			 2000–01 107,956 27,838 
			 2001–02 108,535 28,047 
			 2002–03 108,706 27,973 
		
	
	Source
	Department of Health form KH03.
	Information for the period 1993–94 to 1999–00 aggregated to the 8 Regional Office areas is available in Summary of Bed Availability, England copies of which are in the Library. Information for 2000–01 is available from the Department of Health website http://www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity. Any information on beds published after the abolition of regional offices in April 2002 is not available at a regional level.

Hospital Wards

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospital wards he has visited in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend has visited 10 hospitals since becoming Secretary of State on 12 June 2003; they are listed below. As part of his visits, he saw numerous wards while meeting staff and patients.
	
		
			 Date Venue 
		
		
			 23 June Great Ormond Street Hospital 
			 27 August Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham 
			  Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham 
			 28 August St James's Hospital HQ, Leeds 
			  Leeds General Infirmary 
			 29 August Whiston Hospital, Prescot 
			  St Helen's Hospital, London 
			 2 September St Mary's Hospital, London 
			 1 October Royal Bournemouth Hospital 
			 28 October The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, London

Indian Community

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the health of England's Indian community.

Melanie Johnson: Members of black and minority ethnic communities, including the Indian community, are not a homogeneous group for health status, disease patterns or health behaviour. A number of studies, including Sir Donald Acheson's 'Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health', have shown that there are significant health inequalities among people from black and minority ethnic communities. These inequalities relate to differences in disease prevalence, differential access to services and differential delivery and take-up of services.
	According to the Health Survey for England (1999), Indians experience higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and strokes. Women born in India have a 40 per cent. higher suicide rate than those born in England and Wales. The survey also found that oral cancer has a very high prevalence among the South Asian community (Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Sri Lankan), and rates of uptake of cervical screening among South Asian women are less than half those amongst the general population.
	The Department of Health's strategy for meeting the needs of minority ethnic communities is to set action on race equality within the overall framework for planning and delivering the Department's priorities.
	The NHS Plan recognises that we live in a diverse society and that ethnicity can be a key factor in health inequalities. The plan sets out as core principles that the national health service will shape its services around the needs of the patient, be responsive to the needs of different groups and individuals within society, including challenging racial discrimination.
	In October 2003 the Department published "Delivering Race Equality: A Framework for Action" as a consultation document on black and minority ethnic health setting out what those planning, delivering and monitoring local primary care and mental health services for people from black and minority ethnic communities.
	The Department is committed to transforming the NHS so that it produces faster, fairer services with equity of access for all. The creation of more equal access for black and minority ethnic people is an integral and vital aspect of the Department's programme of investment and reform.

Infection Control

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department monitors hospital and community clinicians' attendance at infection control training; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: For nurses, midwives and other non-medical health professionals, it is for local employers to determine their training needs linked to local service plans. Access to training is affected by whether funding is available, staff can be released, training interventions are appropriate, flexible and convenient and mentors/assessors are available. It would not be practical for the centre to be prescriptive on this.
	Acute trusts have to provide education on infection control as part of the controls assurance standard. Recently published guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on infection control in primary and community care includes recommendations on training.
	For doctors, the content and standard of postgraduate medical training is the responsibility of the United Kingdom competent authorities, the specialist training authority for specialist medicine and, for general practice, the joint committee on postgraduate training for general practice, which will both be replaced by the postgraduate medical education and training board. Their role is that of custodians of quality standards in postgraduate medical education and practice. They are independent of the Department. In addition, the General Medical Council's education committee has the general function of promoting high standards of medical education and co-ordinating all stages of medical education to ensure that students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.
	All of these bodies have a vested interest in ensuring that doctors are equipped to deal with the issues they will encounter in practice—including where appropriate, those relating to infection control. However, it is neither practicable nor desirable for the Government to prescribe and monitor the exact training that any individual doctor will receive.

Injuries Compensation

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of compensation paid by the NHS to employees who have been injured at work was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Personal injury cover for national health service employees is provided by trusts' and primary care trusts' membership of the Liabilities to Third Parties Scheme, a non-clinical risk pooling scheme operated by the NHS Litigation Authority. This was introduced in April 1999 as an alternative to purchasing commercial insurance for non-clinical risks. The table shows the total amount of compensation claims paid in each year since April 1999. Information on claims prior to 1999 is not available.
	
		Total amount of compensation claims paid in each year sinceApril 1999
		
			  Number of claims handled Compensation paid (£) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 810 2.4 million 
			 2000–01 1,839 5.3 million 
			 2001–02 2,435 3.9 million 
			 2002–03 2,450 1.1 million 
			 2003–04 1,572 43,000 
		
	
	These figures do not represent the full cost of compensation claims, however, as many small claims which fall under the standard excess of £10,000 are handled directly by NHS trusts and information on these is not reported.

Insulin

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of patients use (a) animal and (b) GM-produced human insulin; what assessment has been made of the (i) likely changes in those figures over the next 10 years and (ii) continuing availability of animal insulin; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of people using animal and genetically modified produced human insulins are not collected and there has been no assessment or forecast made of the numbers of people likely to be using these insulins in the future. The table shows the number of prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England, and their cost, in the 12 months ended June 2003.
	
		Number of prescription items and net ingredient cost of insulins that were dispensed in the community in England for the 12 months ending June 2003
		
			  Number of prescription items (thousand) Net ingredient cost (£000) 
		
		
			 Highly purified animal insulin 128.1 4,217.2 
			 Human sequence (GM insulin) 3,522.0 150,528.8 
			 All insulins 3,650.0 154,746.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data is from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system which covers all prescription items that are dispensed in the community in England. This does not include drugs dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
	2. Insulins are those defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 6.1.1, "Insulins". Insulin drugs have been grouped into highly purified animal and human sequence (GM) insulin in line with the British National Formulary (BNF).
	3. Doctors write prescriptions on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item. The net ingredient cost refers to the cost (which the dispenser is reimbursed) of the drug before discounts and does not include any dispensing costs or fees.

Intermediate Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many intermediate care beds there were in each year since 1999;
	(2)  how many people received intermediate care services in each year since 1999.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Number of intermediate beds each year, as at 31 March
		
			  Number of IC beds 
		
		
			  
			 1999–2000 4,242 
			 2000–01 (73)— 
			 2001–02 7,021 
			 2002–03 7,407 
		
	
	
		Number of people who have received intermediate care
		
			  Number of people receiving IC services 
		
		
			 1999–2000 132,447 
			 2000–01 (73)— 
			 2001–02 246,034 
			 2002–03 276,184 
		
	
	(73) Not available.

Inventures

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct Inventures to expedite their dealings with the Church Grange Satellite Surgery at Park Village, Basingstoke, in respect of a land transaction; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for delays in Inventures completing this business.

John Hutton: The new surgery at Park Village, Basingstoke forms an integral part of a much larger residential development and the Village Centre project for which Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are currently considering a detailed planning application.
	The sale and development of the new surgery is linked to that of the larger development. The sale of the larger development site is anticipated to be completed shortly.
	The Department is aware of the need for the new surgery to be constructed as soon as practical and is working to achieve this. Drafting Guidelines are attached to the PQ Reference Guide.

Inventures

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the National Audit Office report on the sale of Inventures and NHS property; and whether he plans to publish it.

John Hutton: We understand that the National Audit Office is close to finalising its findings in relation to the sale of Inventures and national health service property.
	No decision has yet been taken with regards to publication of any report.

Clinical Incident Investigations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage local trust management to establish an open culture for reporting and examining clinical incidents.

Rosie Winterton: The Government established the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to improve the safety of patients by promoting a culture of reporting and learning from clinical incidents in the National Health Service. The NPSA has developed a new National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) to collect reports, which will be rolled out across NHS organisations in England and Wales. The NRLS will store anonymous data used to identify national trends and patterns of errors and system failures so that the NPSA can develop practical solutions to address them.
	The NPSA is working on a range of tools and has appointed a regional network of 31 patient safety managers to support NHS managers in developing a more open and fair culture and in responding effectively when things go wrong locally. As the NRLS is rolled out, the NPSA will offer root-cause analysis training to every NHS organisation to encourage thorough and objective investigations and support local learning. Further information is available at www.npsa.nhs.uk.
	The recently published Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) report, 'Making Amends', makes 19 recommendations to reform the way in which clinical negligence claims are handled in the NHS. The CMC's proposals include the introduction of a duty of candour for everyone working in health care, and measures to encourage staff to report adverse incidents and so improve patient safety.

Junior Doctors

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors have been working longer than (a) 72 hours, (b) 56 hours and (c) 48 hours per week in the last month for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Data currently collected on junior doctors' hours does not allow detailed analysis against the levels requested and simply indicates whether or not posts comply with the New Deal weekly limit of 56 hours a week. Initial figures from monitoring carried out in September 2003, suggest that 95 per cent. of junior doctors are working under 56 hours.

Kaiser Permanente

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what Kaiser Permanente facilities he visited on his recent trip to the US; whom he met; and what officials accompanied him.

John Reid: I visited a Kaiser Permanente facility in central Washington DC and met leading staff, including:
	Marilyn J Kawamura—(president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States)
	Stanley J Kramer MD DABP FAAP—(area medical director, DC and Suburban Maryland Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group)
	Susan McDonagh MS RD CDE—(director, Regional Diabetes Program Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group)
	Robert M Crane—(senior vice president, Research and Health Policy Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group)
	Lyda Karm MD—(primary care centre lead, West End Medical Centre Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group)
	I was accompanied by a number of Departmental officials.

Living Wills

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department gives to (a) hospital trusts and (b) primary care trusts about the validity of living wills.

Rosie Winterton: Health professionals cannot be required by living wills, or advance directives, to provide particular treatments, since they may not be appropriate. However, advance refusal of treatment may be valid. Guidance on the validity of advance refusals is included in the Department of Health's "Reference Guide to Consent for Examination or Treatment" published in March 2001. The reference guide is available at www.doh.gov.uk/consent.

Locums

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per year in the NHS was of employing a locum for (a) heart disease care and (b) medical emergencies in the last year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: holding answer 11 November 2003
	This information is not held centrally.

Locums

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS trusts are able to pay unlimited amounts for replacement locums for suspended consultants.

John Hutton: holding answer 12 November 2003
	National Health Service bodies are encouraged to use only commercial agencies listed in the National Medical Locum Agency Framework Agreement for the recruitment of locums. This is a list approved by the Department, with agreed quality standards and costs to help obtain value for money. Information on the amounts paid by trusts and the reasons for locums being employed are not held centrally.

National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) consultant neurologists, (b) physiotherapists and (c) speech and language therapists he estimates are needed to implement the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions from 2005; how many of each group are in post; what action he is taking to make up any shortfall; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The national service framework (NSF) for long term conditions will focus on improving the standard of neurology services across England. It will also address some of the generic issues that are important to people with non-neurological disabilities, such as access to rehabilitation services; provision of good quality information; support for carers; and, access to community equipment, assistive technology and wheelchairs.
	We recognise the important role that doctors, allied health professionals and other professionals play in providing appropriate services and support for people with long term conditions, their families and carers. We are increasing the numbers of these professionals as part of the NHS Plan commitment to increase the national health service work force.
	As at 30 June 2003, there were 407 consultants in neurology, representing an increase of 33 per cent. since September 1999. We are working towards increasing their numbers further and in 2003–04 have provided central funding to support implementation of a further 10 specialist registrar posts in neurology. Trusts will also have the opportunity to create up to an additional 20 locally funded specialist registrar training opportunities.
	We are also increasing the numbers of speech and language therapists and physiotherapists entering training each year. There are now 140 more (an increase of 31 per cent.) training places for speech and language therapy and 811 more (an increase of 60 per cent.) for physiotherapy.
	Additionally, as part of the process of developing the NSF work is in hand to consider relevant work force issues such as the need for increased numbers of staff but also for new ways of working, including skill mix, role extensions and multi-disciplinary working, based around patient needs. We expect that the group looking at these workforce issues will make recommendations on the future supply of professionals and development of new ways of working to inform national workforce planning processes.

Maintenance Costs

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the backlog maintenance cost to reach estate code condition was in each English region for (a) NHS trusts and (b) mental health trusts in the last six years.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 November 2003
	The backlog of maintenance should be seen in the context of a National Health Service estate in England comprising 25 million square metres, with a book value of £24 billion and a replacement cost of around £72 billion. Current record investment of £4 billion in 2003–04, rising to over £6 billion in 2005–06, will regenerate the NHS estate and reduce maintenance because by 2040, 40 per cent. of the estate will be less than 15 years old.
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	Backlog maintenance covers a wide variety of conditions, including that which is just below compliance standard. The figures provided do not indicate levels of risk to patients. Trusts manage high-risk deficiencies as a priority in order to ensure that premises are intrinsically safe and not of concern to local enforcement bodies.
	
		Expenditure to reach Estate code Condition B -- £000
		
			 Region All Trusts Mental Health Trusts All Trusts Mental Health Trusts 
		
		
			 Northern and Yorkshire 419,592 3,400 462,610 3,400 
			 Trent 228,870 3,956 275,801 3,887 
			 Anglia and Oxford 282,095 11,322 295,617 7,065 
			 North Thames 631,576 2,790 627,669 2,418 
			 South Thames 357,978 12,182 410,080 11,559 
			 South West 254,959 729 200,737 652 
			 West Midlands 369,410 6,407 421,888 4,480 
			 North West 291,981 4,246 332,659 610 
		
	
	Note
	Data was collected on a regional basis until 1998–99. Thereafter, the data is provided by current strategic health authority.
	
		Expenditure to reach Estate code Condition B -- £
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
			 SHA All Trusts Mental Health Trust All Trusts Mental Health Trusts All Trusts Mental Health Trusts All Trusts Mental Health Trusts 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire & Wiltshire 110,148 20,558 144,430 20,772 156,320 24,268 210,485 23,103 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 92,888 0 74,700 0 88,374 0 93,713 0 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 236,566 3,120 242,567 443 238,409 4,461 273,457 5,122 
			 Cheshire & Merseyside 80,836 1,195 114,202 0 120,527 2,108 162,227 7,752 
			 County Durham & Tees Valley 59,899 4,710 71,981 3,710 64,771 2,257 63,400 3,088 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire 111,800 0 105,578 0 113,326 0 103,936 0 
			 Cumbria & Lancashire 95,932 0 98,182 0 86,668 3,017 97,037 8,274 
			 Dorset & Somerset 20,414 322 81,912 299 46,922 198 47,232 683 
			 Essex 56,188 198 33,601 206 73,059 1,347 82,418 6,790 
			 Greater Manchester 177,741 410 196,548 409 182,568 1,891 208,612 4,175 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 51,265 0 71,469 1,043 83,466 1,399 95,647 841 
			 Kent and Medway 90,041 0 63,484 0 48,165 0 132,217 0 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire & Rutland 103,171 0 87,493 0 131,741 0 123,329 0 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridge 95,045 7,643 97,920 5,753 77,670 4,941 107,464 7,506 
			 North & East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire 87,377 0 96,167 0 79,208 0 74,712 0 
			 North Central London 142,825 235 148,664 1,532 160,339 1,912 184,037 8,673 
			 North East London 205,857 0 154,846 0 198,147 12,320 183,518 12,417 
			 North West London 180,295 4,501 169,449 893 208,508 11,256 206,462 19,603 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 79,375 3,400 85,350 3,400 69,900 12,560 81,097 11,865 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 86,735 510 110,165 1,031 107,248 0 109,047 0 
			 South East London 206,604 9,807 231,143 16,191 211,815 1 9,043 183,153 30,629 
			 South West London 76,653 2,318 58,718 2,183 72,550 5,890 173,254 74,725 
			 South West Peninsula 34,592 0 54,172 0 45,322 0 41,214 0 
			 South Yorkshire 47,926 0 45,539 0 60,685 0 71,016 0 
			 Surrey and Sussex 97,256 0 139,703 0 150,917 0 110,686 1,889 
			 Thames Valley 157,007 5,886 107,789 5,291 137,491 7,105 169,529 3,277 
			 Trent 132,619 5,178 141,509 4,018 138,988 7,732 157,253 4,755 
			 West Yorkshire 191,170 0 214,594 0 225,153 0 263,354 14,416 
		
	
	Notes
	1. The figure provided for All Trusts include those given for Mental Health Trusts.
	2. Owing to changes in structure at all levels in the NHS during the period of the question, direct comparison at regional level between years is not always possible even for organisations with the same name.
	3. The figures provided for Mental Health Trusts derive only from those designated by the Department of Health as being exclusively Mental Health and exclude any trusts where Mental Health services only form part of the Trust's defined functions.

Health Care (Manchester)

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what adjustment he will make to the funding of (a) primary health care trusts and (b) other health trusts in Manchester following the adjustment to the census figures for Manchester made by the Office of National Statistics on 4 November.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 November 2003
	Revenue allocations for the provision of health care, made to primary care trusts for 2003–04 to 2005–06, were announced on 11 December 2002.
	Any changes in population figures will be used for the next round of allocations. Preparatory work will begin early next year.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: A list of expenditure incurred on opinion polling, and market research in the last financial year could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	A list of research projects carried out by the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies for the financial year 2002–03 is available in the Library. These lists may not include all research projects, as some information is not centrally available.
	We are committed to consulting and involving the public to help inform both policy formulation and the delivery of better quality public service. Responsive public services are an important part of the Modernising Government initiative.
	We only conduct or commission market or opinion research when it is justified by the needs of the policy programme and is the most economical, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose.

Medical Research

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impact assessment the Department has made of the adoption of the EU Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC) on the UK non-commercial medical research sector.

Melanie Johnson: As part of the consultations on the UK regulations, a partial regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was provided revealing potential increased costs. Universities, national health service trusts and charities were invited to submit estimates on recurring and non-recurring compliance costs for non-commercial trials. The comments received revealed the difficulty of estimating costs with so much uncertainty surrounding the Commission Directives.
	The Government has taken further steps to attempt to influence the Commission in its consideration of a Commission Directive on Good Clinical Practice and also in reviewing guidance that the Commission published earlier this year with a view to avoiding any unnecessary costs. This work is continuing.
	In another initiative designed to reduce the cost impact, the Department and the Medical Research Council are working with experts to find practical solutions to the issues identified in the partial impact assessment. Details of the project can be found on www.ncchta.org/eudirective/index.asp.
	Further information on the partial regulatory impact assessment and the proposed UK implementing regulations is available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's website at www.mhra.gov.uk in the MHRA Consultative Documents: MLXs issued in 2003, MIX 287.

Mental Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which and reasons why people with mental health problems self-fund their (a) medication, (b) treatment and (c) care.

Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health has made no assessment of the extent to which and the reasons why people with mental health problems seek treatment and care within the independent sector.
	However, we are concerned to ensure that all those who are assessed as needing treatment and care should be able to receive it within the national health service at the appropriate time.
	This is why we have made mental health a priority for reform and have increased investment in mental health services. It is also why we welcomed the report published by Mind, entitled "The Hidden Cost of Mental Health", as a helpful contribution to our understanding of the needs of people with mental health problems and why we are engaged in an extensive public consultation to consider what more we can do to improve choice, responsiveness and equity in services.

Mental Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of seasonal affective disorder there were in each winter since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health does not capture central information about the numbers of people with depression that varies seasonally. Diagnosis of depression is a matter for the responsible clinician taking into account all the various factors that may contribute. Although seasonal affective disorder is not listed in the International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD-10), we do understand that there are a number of people that appear to be affected in this way. Whatever the causes, and we do not fully understand them all, serious depression is a matter of great concern to those delivering mental health services. Improving mental health services is a priority for the Government.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the occurrence log kept by Mersey Regional Ambulance Service for the weekend of 1–2 November in the Library.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 11 November 2003
	The information requested is not held centrally.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures have been put in place by the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service to ensure that information from patient report forms is (a) collated effectively and (b) used as part of the clinical audit process.

Melanie Johnson: The Mersey Regional Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust has introduced a revised procedure which ensures that the collation of data from the patient report form is audited daily by the station officer to ensure both completion and quality of documentation. The patient report forms are also sorted into the correct clinical areas and delivered on time and to the central audit department. In addition a random selection of all patient report forms are checked against a set standard.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary is of the communications manager at the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service; and if he will place a copy of the job description for this post in the Library.

Melanie Johnson: A copy of the job description for the post of communications manager at Mersey Regional Ambulance Service has been placed in the Library.
	The salary information requested is not available.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service lone worker policy in the Library.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 November 2003
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have been introduced by the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service to ensure that all staff, including those in stations outside Liverpool, receive staff bulletins.

Melanie Johnson: The Mersey Regional Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust has a new communications strategy in place. This ensures that all staff have access to the right information, at appropriate times and places.

Midwifery

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 18 September, reference 127592 on midwives administering, if he will list the non-medical products midwives can supply; what the criteria are for such supply; and what financial arrangements apply, with particular reference to the right to reclaim costs incurred.

John Hutton: There is no list of inclusions or omissions regarding the non-medical products that may be used by midwives within the course of their clinical practice. Such decisions are taken locally by employing organisations. There are no special financial arrangements in place outside normal budgetary procedures.
	Those midwives trained as nurse prescribers will be able to prescribe these products, including compression hosiery, listed in Part IX of the drug tariff.

Migraine

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of migraine sufferers being treated in the NHS fall within the target of a maximum 16-week wait between referral and first out-patient appointment;
	(2)  what proportion of migraine sufferers treated in the NHS were (a) misdiagnosed and (b) inappropriately treated in 2002.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	We are taking steps to improve services for patients with headache. In April 2003, for example, we published guidelines for the appointment of general practitioners (GPs) with special interests in the delivery of clinical services in headache. This should help to raise the profile of headache and migraine with health professionals.
	The Modernisation Agency will be managing a project over the next two years to improve access to neurology services. The project will work closely with professionals, patients and other stakeholders, and will complement other initiatives already under way within the Modernisation Agency, the Department of Health and the national health service.
	Since 1 April 2003, the NHS aims to see all patients within 21 weeks of a GP referral and, once on an inpatient waiting list, patients should be admitted within 12 months. From 1 April 2004, waiting times will further reduce to a maximum waiting time for a first outpatient appointment of 16 weeks. The maximum waiting time for an inpatient appointment will be cut from 12 months to nine months.
	These maximum waiting times will fall on a staged basis each year to three months (for outpatients) and six months (for inpatients) by 2005. The Government aims to reduce the maximum wait for any stage of treatment to three months by 2008 (subject to recruitment and reform).

Minor Operations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to set up units to carry out minor operations in Buckinghamshire.

Rosie Winterton: I have no plans to set up units to carry out minor operations in Buckinghamshire. It is our policy, within the framework set out in the NHS Plan and the 'Shifting the Balance of Power' initiative, to devolve funding decisions to the front line. It is now for primary care trusts, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. They are in the best position to do this because of the specialist knowledge they have of the local community.
	I am informed by Thames Valley SHA that the development of out of hours arrangements in Buckinghamshire will include emergency minor injury work across the area. Current development of general practitioners with special interests in ear, nose and throat, orthopaedics and plastics will work in the community undertaking minor operations/injuries.

Minor Operations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many units to carry out minor operations have been set up in Buckinghamshire since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Mothers' Milk

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department collects on trends in respect of the presence of (a) brominated flame retardants and (b) phthalates in mothers' milk; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that the Government has no current representative data on the levels of brominated flame retardants or phthalates in human breast milk.

MRSA

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA in hospitals have been reported in each of the last five years; in which areas; and if he will make a statement on action his Department is taking to address MRSA.

Melanie Johnson: These data are not collected centrally. The national mandatory surveillance system for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias), started in April 2001. Information from this is published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly and is available at http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf and http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/PDFfiles/2003/cdr2503.pdf
	The Chief Medical Officer's long-term strategy to prevent and reduce healthcare associated infections in the national health service, announced earlier this year, will set out actions to control all health care associated infections, including MRSA. This builds on our current programme of work and will be published shortly.

National Adoption Register

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what performance target was set for placements resulting from the National Adoption Register;
	(2)  how many children have been placed with new families as a result of the introduction of the National Adoption Register;
	(3)  what has been the total expenditure by his Department on the National Adoption Register since August 2001.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	No performance targets were set for the Adoption Register for England and Wales. It is expected that the Register will help us achieve our target to increase the number of adoptions from care by 50 per cent. by 2006. We have already increased adoptions by 25 per cent. and are on course to meet our target. Given the complexities governing the placement of children with adoptive families, we did not feel it would be appropriate to set a target for the Register. Our aim of course is to provide children with placements that meet their assessed needs. The needs of the children must be paramount in the process and it is vital that the Register provides viable links for suitable families who may be able to deal with the children's often very complex needs.
	In just one year the Register has become an established part of the adoption process with a national co-ordinating role. The register has generated 1,250 viable links across England and Wales that were agreed as worth exploring in detail by adoption agencies. At the end of October there had been 48 matches made between children and families. This means that there are 48 children who have found families as a result of links generated by the Register.
	The Register is being operated by Norwood under a three year contract with the Department of Health and National Assembly for Wales at a total cost of £633,333 plus VAT per annum. The current contract is due to end in August 2004. We will be reviewing the impact of the Register on the delivery of adoption services over the coming months.

NHS Catering Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the central contracts to provide catering services for the NHS.

John Hutton: There is no central contract for the national health service for catering services, due to the diversity of requirements throughout the NHS. In December 2003, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is due to release a procurement guide for catering services that will include information on the catering services market and suppliers, and will give advice on the different types of service available to national health service trusts. This guide will be available from Corporate Affairs, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, 80 Lightfoot Street, Chester CH2 3AD.

NHS Estate

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 November 2003, Official Report, column 520W, on the NHS Estate, what information he collates on the definition of patient-occupied floor space.

John Hutton: Information is collected from national health service trusts on the gross internal floor area of all hospital departments which provide patient care and where patients are exposed to risk and the percentage of it (if any) that is not compliant with statutory health and safety and fire safety requirements.

NHS Expenditure

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital expenditure there has been in the NHS in England in each of the last five years; and how much of that spending was attributable to private finance initiative projects.

John Hutton: holding answer 10 November 2003
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS capital expenditure, England, for period 1999–2000 to 2003–04 -- £ million
		
			  1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 (estimated) 2003–04 (planned) 
		
		
			 Net NHS capital expenditure 908 1,246 1,778 (74)2,083 
			 (75),(76)2,221 2,821 
			 PFI investment 362 598 548 479 624 
			 Total 1,270 1,844 2,326 4,783 3,445 
			 PFI as percentage of total 28.5 32.4 23.6 10.0 18.1 
		
	
	(74) Expenditure figures from 1999–2000 to 2002–03 are on a Stage 1 Resource Budgeting basis (and consistent with figures in table 3.3a of Departmental Report 2003).
	(75) Expenditure figures from 2002–03 to 2007–08 are on a Stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis.
	(76) The Resource Budgeting Stage 2 expenditure figures shown for 2002–03 to 2003–04 are the spending plans announced by the Chancellor in his 2002 Budget. They exclude subsequent additions in 2003–04 from the Treasury Capital Modernisation Fund (TCMF).

NHS Expenditure

Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what per capita expenditure was on the NHS in (a) England and (b) Cumbria in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2002–03; what projections he has made for future years; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 17 November 2003
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Total net NHS expenditure per head of population for 1997–98 and for the period 2002–03 to 2007–08 in England.
		
			  1997–98 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
			  £ £ £ £ £ £ £ 
		
		
			  
			 Expenditure per head 710 1,130 1,240 1,360 1,490 1,640 1,800 
		
	
	1. For 1997–98 figures are on a cash basis, whereas figures for the period 2002–03 to 2007–08 are on a stage 2 Resource Budgeting basis. As a result, figures are not
	comparable across the period.
	2. Figures are calculated using the latest population projections provided by ONS.
	3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		Total NHS Expenditure per weighted head of population for 1997–98 and 2002–03 for the area covered by Cumbria and Lancashire Health Authority.
		
			  1997–98 2002–03 
			 Cumbria (1–2) £ £ 
		
		
			 Expenditure per head 600 (3–5) 1,170 (4,6.7) 
		
	
	Sources:
	1. Assumed to be the area covered by East Lancashire, Morecambe Bay, North Cumbria,
	North West Lancashire, and South Lancashire Health Authorities in 1997–1998.
	2. Assumed to be the area covered Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority 2002–2003.
	3. Source: Audited annual accounts of the East Lancashire, Morecambe Bay, North Cumbria, North West Lancashire, and South Lancashire Health Authorities for 1997-1998.
	4. Source: Audited summarisation forms of the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority and Audited summarisation schedules of the Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley Pendle and Rossendale, Carlisle and District, Chorley and South Ribble, Eden Valley, Fylde, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley, Morecambe Bay, Preston, West Cumbria, West Lancashire, and Wyre Primary Care Trusts for 2002–2003.
	5. Health authority weighted population figures for 1997–1998.
	6. Strategic health authority weighted population figures for 2002–2003.
	7. 2002–2003 data remains provisional
	8. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
	9. Expenditure figures for the period 2003–04 to 2007–08 are not yet available. The England expenditure per head of population figures are not directly comparable with the figures for Cumbria as they include different elements of expenditure.

NHS Live 2004

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on plans for the NHS Live 2004 event; what the budget for the event is; and who is responsible for organising the event;

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the projected costs of the NHS Live event are; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: NHS Live is a long-term programme of action, designed to accelerate the pace of change and improvement throughout the National Health Service and social care. It will involve patients at every stage of its development and will actively embrace an ever increasing number of staff in delivering a patient centred service offering greater choice.
	In addition, the NHS Live programme will be closely linked to the three year planning process starting in October 2004.
	With the full support of senior teams throughout the Service, NHS Live is the first programme of its type to engage staff across the NHS and social care.
	The annual focal point will be an event and tradeshow. The first will be held at ExCeL, in the London Docklands between 5–7 July 2004. It will reflect on the changes and challenges of the past, learn from them and push forward healthcare improvement.
	The final budget for NHS Live, which has not been finalised yet, will match the amount generated through sponsorship and exhibition revenue.
	NHS Live will be managed by officials on behalf of the Department's board. In common with other major Department of Health events, external suppliers will be appointed as necessary.

NHS Performance Indicators

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS performance indicators have been set in each of the last eight years.

John Hutton: The published indicators that have provided an assessment of national health service performance are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Period covered/title Number of indicators When published 
		
		
			 2002–03   
			 NHS performance ratings:   
			 Primary care trusts 46 July 2003 
			 Mental health trusts 30 July 2003 
			 Learning disability trusts 17 July 2003 
			
			 NHS performance ratings:   
			 Acute trusts, Specialist trusts 45 July 2003 
			 Ambulance trusts 13 July 2003 
			
			 2001–02   
			 NHS performance indicators:  
			 Primary Care organisations 21 July 2002 
			
			 NHS performance ratings:   
			 Acute trusts, Specialist trusts 29 July 2002 
			 Ambulance trusts 10 July 2002 
			 Mental health trusts 16 July 2002 
			
			 2000–01   
			 NHS performance ratings:   
			 Acute NHS hospital trusts 21 September 2001 
			
			 1997–2002   
			 NHS performance indicators:  
			 Health Authorities 51 February 2002 
			
			 1999–2001   
			 NHS performance indicators:  
			 Acute NHS hospital trusts 28 February 2002 
			
			 1996–99   
			 Quality and Performance in the NHS:  
			 NHS performance indicators 49 July 2000 
			
			 1995–99   
			 Quality and Performance in the NHS:  
			 High level performance indicators 41 June 1999 
			
			 1996–97   
			 The NHS Performance National Guide 19 July 1997 
			   
			 1995–96   
			 The NHS Performance National Guide 19 June 1996 
			
			 1994–95   
			 The NHS Performance National Guide 19 June 1995

NHS Reorganisation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will list occasions when NHS trusts and their predecessor NHS bodies spent money on publicising the benefits of an anticipated reorganisation of the NHS in advance of the necessary legislation being enacted; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the cost was of each reorganisation of the NHS since 1977.

John Hutton: Detailed information on the costs, including publicity costs, of reorganisations in the national health service since 1977 is not collected centrally. Any resultant savings at the local level are put toward patient care.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on (a) where responsibility for implementing National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines lies and (b) recent performance in implementation.

Rosie Winterton: National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines are prepared for the guidance of national health service clinical staff and their employing bodies, who are responsible for their implementation. NICE has published seven major clinical guidelines, beginning in December 2002. At this early stage we have made no formal assessment of progress towards implementation.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1977.

Rosie Winterton: The financial records of the Department do not show any services being provided to the Department of Health by NM Rothchild and Sons Ltd.

Nurses

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hospital and (b) community full-time equivalent nurses were employed by (i) Taunton and Somerset NHS Hospital Trust and (ii) Taunton Deane Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The number of hospital and community full-time equivalent nurses employed by the Taunton and Somerset National Health Service Hospital Trust and Taunton Deane Primary Care Trust are shown in the table as well as the number in Somerset Coast PCT and Mendip PCT.
	
		Qualified NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, by hospital and community-based, in the specified organisations as at 30 September each year -- Whole-time equivalent
		
			  All qualified nursing staff Community Hospital 
		
		
			  Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 
			 2002 879 5 874 
			 2001 975 74 901 
			 2000 1,107 164 943 
			 1999 1,090 167 923 
			 1998 1,034 155 879 
			 1997 1,056 144 912 
			 
			 Taunton Deane PCT   
			 2002 85 48 37 
			 2001 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 2000 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1999 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1998 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1997 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 
			 Somerset Coast PCT   
			 2002 184 92 92 
			 2001 181 96 85 
			 2000 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1999 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1998 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1997 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 
			 Mendip PCT
			 2002 139 42 97 
			 2001 132 35 97 
			 2000 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1999 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1998 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
			 1997 (77)— (77)— (77)— 
		
	
	(77) Not applicable.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	2. Maternity nurse figures have been included within Hospital as they cannot be separately identified between Community and Hospital.
	3. In 2001 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust transferred staff to Somerset Coast PCT and Mendip PCT.
	4. In 2002 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust transferred further staff to Taunton Deane PCT.

Nurses

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the National Health Service spent on hiring agency nursing staff in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Provisional figures for 2002–03 are shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure on Agency Nurses in England—2002–2003
		
			 Agency nursing staff £ 
		
		
			 National Health Service Trusts 553,065,986 
			 Strategic Health Authorities 21,579 
			 Primary Care Trust 73,685,708 
			 Total 626,773,273

Nurses

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) district nurses and (b) health visitors there were by (i) headcount and (ii) whole-time equivalent in (A) England and (B) each region in each of the last six years.

John Hutton: District nurses and health visitors are part of the qualified community nursing workforce. Between 1997 and 2002, the qualified community nursing workforce has increased by 17 per cent. Information on the community nursing workforce is shown in the table by national health service regional office area between 1997 and 2001 and by Government offices for the regions and strategic health authority area in 2002.

Olympus Optical Co. (UK) Ltd

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet the hon. Member for West Chelmsford and a representative of Olympus Optical Co (UK) Ltd, a constituent.

John Hutton: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible, and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Paddington Health Campus

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated patient capacity is of the proposed Paddington Health Campus; and how much that has increased from the estimate in 2000.

John Hutton: The Paddington Health Campus will have provision for 1088 inpatient beds. This is an increase of 80 beds in comparison with the current total for equivalent services at St Mary's and the Royal Brompton and Harefield National Health Service Trusts. The original forecast projected bed numbers was approximately 1,000. The campus that is now planned is 20 per cent, larger in size and will treat a higher number of acutely ill patients.

Paddington Health Campus

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place a copy of the contract between the Paddington Health Campus project and Christow in the Library.

John Hutton: Christow, a public relations consultancy, has been appointed on an interim basis, pending selection of permanent communications advisers via formal procurement. An advertisement was sent to the Official Journal of the European Union on 10 October 2003.
	It is normal practice for such contracts to be commercially confidential, as releasing this information would entail disclosing a third party's commercial confidence. Exemption 13 of the Open Government Code of Practice therefore applies.

Painkillers

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many painkillers available over the counter contain codeine phosphate.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 18 November 2003.

Parliamentary Questions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer the Question from the hon. Member for Cotswold tabled on 22 October, ref.134548.

Rosie Winterton: I replied to the hon. Member's question on Wednesday 19 November.

Patient Advice and Liaison Services

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England have functioning patient advice and liaison services.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect data on the number of patient advice and liaison services (PALS). Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for monitoring the implementation of PALS and in February 2003 they reported to the Department that 98 per cent. of NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) had an active PALS. In responding to the recent Health Select Committee Public Expenditure Inquiry in October 2003, the SHAs established that, of the 15 NHS trusts and PCTs that did not have an active PALS at the time of the February report, 14 now have a PALS in place. The remaining trust currently provides a limited service, which is expected to be fully operational by December 2003.

Patient Advice and Liaison Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the Department's definition of an active Patient Advice and Liaison Service.

Rosie Winterton: An active Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) is a service identified by its trust as working to deliver the published core PALS service standards.
	NHS trusts and primary care trusts are responsible for establishing PALS that deliver the core PALS service standards published by the Department. Trusts are responsible for deciding how to deliver the service in a way that responds to local needs and strategic health authorities monitor trust performance against those standards.

Patient Advice and Liaison Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will (a) collate and (b) publish information on the implementation of patient advice and liaison service, including (i) the percentage of NHS trusts and primary care trusts that have an active PALS and (ii) monitoring of the national PALS standards.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect data on the number of patient advice and liaison services (PALS). Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for monitoring the implementation of PALS and in February 2003 they reported to the Department that 98 per cent. of NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) had an active PALS. In responding to the recent Health Select Committee Public Expenditure Inquiry in October 2003, the SHAs established that, of the 15 NHS trusts and PCTs that did not have an active PALS at the time of the February report, 14 now have a PALS in place. The remaining trust currently provides a limited service, which is expected to be fully operational by December 2003.
	SHAs are responsible for monitoring trust performance against the published standards. The Department published the core PALS service standards in January 2002 ("Supporting the implementation of patient advice and liaison services: A resource pack"). These were reviewed and revised in July 2003.

Patient Surveys

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 631W, to the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris), on patient surveys, if he will place a copy of the analysis commissioned by his Department in the Library.

Melanie Johnson: Following publication of the National Cancer Patient Survey in July 2002, the Department of Health commissioned a further analysis of the data to inform the development of future surveys. This was an exploratory piece of work to see if there were any inter-dependencies that might affect the patient experience. The output will not be a formal report but rather a series of detailed statistical tables. These will be made available to the Commission for Health Improvement, which has taken over responsibility for the national patient survey programme.

Patients' Forums

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce legislation to rename patients' forums as patient and public involvement forums.

Rosie Winterton: No. The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health decided to re-brand patients' forums as patient and public involvement forums to help the public understand their roles. There is no statutory bar to their doing this.

Patients' Forums

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) rate of vacancies within patients' forums on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement on progress to meet the minimum number of staff in each patients' forum.

Rosie Winterton: As at 19 November 2003 the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) had received 4,254 applications from people to fill the 4,018 patients' forum places available for 1 December 2003. This is the total for the minimum number of seven members needed for all 574 forums in England. Inevitably some forums have attracted greater interest than others. However, CPPIH is still recruiting and applications are being received throughout the country on a daily basis.
	Patients' forums cannot employ staff because they are unincorporated organisations. However arrangements have been in place since September for each patients' forum to receive staff support from local network providers.

Physiotherapy

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are restrictions on the number of domiciliary visits by physiotherapists to individual patients.

John Hutton: There are no centrally imposed restrictions in England.

Private Diagnostic and Treatment Centres

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library correspondence between his Department's officials and the Oxford Strategic Health Authority about private diagnostic and treatment centres.

John Hutton: The procurement of independent sector treatment centres is being managed under strict Official Journal of the European Commission process. Contracts are not yet at financial close and therefore the correspondence with Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority is commercial in confidence and its release would have an impact on the next stage of negotiation.

Private Finance Initiative

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list NHS PFI projects valued at more than £50 million for which approval has been granted by the Department; what the projected cost is of each of these projects; what net impact each project will have on the cost base of the NHS trusts involved; and what the projected completion date is for each project.

John Hutton: Information on private finance initiative (PFI) schemes which have been given approval with their capital value; the revenue consequences of schemes that have signed contracts; and the projected completion dates for those who have yet to reach financial close have been placed in the Library. It is not possible to include details of the unitary payments for schemes yet to reach financial close as they are not finalised and are commercially sensitive.
	Nor is it possible to give the net impact on the cost base of the National Health Service trusts without examining all the individual business cases and thereby incurring disproportionate costs.
	For schemes which have not reached financial close, that is still in development, the capital cost is estimated based on highest costed option.

Prostate Health

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government is taking to raise public awareness about the prostate and its functions.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 17 November 2003
	The Department wants men to know what their prostate gland is, what is does and what can go wrong with it. However, it is important not to scare men. We therefore need to raise awareness in a responsible way.
	The Prostate Cancer Advisory Group has formed a sub-group to take forward work on information for the general public and public awareness of prostate cancer. General prostate health awareness is likely to form part of this work.
	In addition the Department has provided funding for the following public awareness projects:
	Prostate Cancer Charity—increasing the information available about prostate cancer
	Prostate Cancer Charity—improving awareness of the risks and symptoms of prostate cancer in African and Afro-Caribbean men in Britain
	The Database of Individual Patient Experiences in prostate cancer.

Rickets

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the incidence of rickets in children.

Stephen Ladyman: Hospital episode statistics indicate that the incidence of rickets in children is very uncommon, as the table shows.
	
		Primary diagnosis (ICD-10 E55.0) vitamin D deficiency—Rickets, active(78)
		
			  Count 
		
		
			  
			 Age on admission 0–17 years—count of finished admission episodes NHS hospitals, England 2001–02 57 
		
	
	(78) Excludes—Rickets: coeliac,Crohn's,inactive,renal,vitamin D resistant.
	Notes:
	1. Admissions—Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)—The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Grossing— Figures have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Safety Incidents

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the latest statistics on safety incidents within the NHS from the National Reporting and Learning System, including regional breakdown.

John Hutton: The National Reporting and Learning System for adverse events is being developed by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) and it will be implemented across the National Health Service in England and Wales by December 2004. Once the system is established, statistics will be published by the NPSA on a regular basis.
	The NPSA published a report on the data collected as part of a pilot for the new system on 8 May 2003. This report is available as part of the NPSA's 2003–04 business plan at http://www.npsa.nhs.uk. The NPSA also plans to publish a report on information collected during a further testing and development phase early in 2004, once analysis of the figures is completed.

Sandwich Contract

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the tender for the public private partnership contract to provide sandwiches for the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The national health service contract for sandwiches was not a public private partnership. After a joint exercise by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Office of Government Commerce buying solutions, the NHS contract was extended to all public sector contracting authorities from 1 August 2003. Copies of the tender document are available from Corporate Affairs, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, 80 Lightfoot Street, Chester CH2 3AD.

Smog

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the (a) mortality and (b) morbidity caused by smog (i) in England and (ii) broken down by local authority area in each year (A) since 1997 and (B) to 2006.

Melanie Johnson: Estimates of numbers of deaths brought forward and respiratory hospital admissions associated with air pollution in England for certain years between 1997 and 2002 are shown in the table. These are based on the methodology published in the 1998 report by the Department's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants—"Quantification of the Effects of Air Pollution on Health in the United Kingdom"—updated for more recent pollution levels. A projection to 2005 is also given.
	
		Heaths effects of air pollutants in England (deaths brought forward and respiratory hospital admissions)
		
			 Year Particles (PM(88) ) deaths brought forward Particles (PM(88)) respiratory admissions Sulphur dioxide deaths brought forward Sulphur dioxide respiratory admissions Nitrogen dioxide respiratory admissions(80) 
		
		
			 1997 7,000 6,900   8,300 
			 1998 6,500 6,300 1,700 1,300 7,400 
			 1999 6,200 6,100   7,100 
			 2001 5,900 5,800 1,100 800 6,400 
			 2002 5,600 5,500   5,200 
			 2005(79) 5,400 5,300 800 600 4,800 
		
	
	Notes
	(79) Projections based on current policies.
	(80) More uncertain—figures rounded to the nearest 100.
	Estimates exclude effects of particles on cardiovascular admissions and effects on life expectancy as a result of long term exposure to particles. It is unclear whether the results for different pollutants can be added together.
	Estimates for deaths brought forward and respiratory hospital admissions for ozone are not available for the requested time period.
	Estimates are not available by local authority area. The uncertainties will increase when estimates are based on smaller areas.

Social Care Director

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for 
	(1)  what reasons the Department's Social Care Director is not a member of the Department's Board;
	(2)  what (a) accountabilities and (b) reporting lines the Social Care Director will have in respect of staff in the Department of (i) Health and (ii) Education and Skills.

Stephen Ladyman: The national director for social care at the Department of Health will be accountable for strengthening the relationships the Department has with social care in local government and elsewhere and for ensuring that all policy development in the Department starts by thinking about the whole health and social care system.
	The national director will report to the director of strategy, a member of the Department's management board. All board members will have responsibilities for aspects of social care, through the teams they manage. No other national director is a board member. The national director will work closely with the Department for Education and Skills and other Government Departments but will be accountable only to the Department for Health.

Social Services (Somerset)

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost to Somerset Social Services for children in care was in each year since 1999–2000.

Margaret Hodge: The gross expenditure on children looked after as reported by Somerset is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Expenditure £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 7,031,000 
			 2000–2001 7,125,000 
			 2001–2002 6,946,000 
		
	
	2001–02 is the latest year available.

St. George's Hospital

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many public service agreement targets St. George's Hospital, London has.

John Hutton: Local public service agreements are voluntary agreements between central Government and a council to deliver better services for local people. Wandsworth council, the local council in the area in which St. George's Hospital is based, is currently in the process of agreeing its local public service agreements targets.

St. George's Hospital

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what help St. George's Hospital, London will be given to achieve waiting list targets.

John Hutton: St. George's Healthcare National Health Service trust expects to achieve the waiting list targets for the year ending 2003–04. I am informed that the NHS Modernisation Agency has been invited by the trust to help develop improved waiting list management systems and a more efficient service for patients. The trust has also participated in the London patients' choice initiative; and has been awarded funds to support "Action On" projects in urology and plastics.

St. George's Hospital

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting list times for St. George's Hospital, London were in (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000 and (c) 2001–02.

John Hutton: Information on median waiting times for St. George's Healthcare National Health Service Trust is shown in the following table.
	
		Average waiting times for elective inpatient admission atSt. George's Healthcare NHS Trust
		
			 Year ending Median waiting times (months) 
		
		
			 March 1999 2.74 
			 March 2000 2.95 
			 March 2002 3.05 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH07.
	The figures shown are estimates based on aggregate data, categorised into waiting time bands, and do not reflect shifts in the waiting time profiles within these bands, only between bands. The median is not very sensitive to reductions in maximum waiting times, and it is possible to see a rise in the median, while reducing maximum waiting times because of shifts in low time bands. Short-term progress on delivering maximum waiting times (including in-year tail-gunning) will not necessarily translate into a reduction in the median waiting time. Our policy, therefore, is to focus attention on the number of patients waiting the longest, and in each waiting time band.

Staff Exclusions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of possible savings to the NHS if all staff exclusions were dealt with in six months.

John Hutton: The National Audit Office in its report "The Management of Suspensions of Clinical Staff in NHS Hospital and Ambulance Trusts in England" has made an assessment of the possible savings.

Staff Exclusions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to respond to findings by the National Audit Office on staff exclusions, with particular reference to (a) practice by trusts in following procedural guidelines, (b) the provision of cost information and (c) the use of confidentiality clauses in settlements.

John Hutton: We are currently considering how the findings of the National Audit Office (NAO) report relate to the new framework for exclusion, which we are discussing with the British Medical Association. The NAO report will be discussed at a Public Accounts Committee hearing in the New Year, and the Government will respond formally to any recommendations that the committee decides to make.

Staff Exclusions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that trusts (a) support excluded clinical staff and (b) enable them to continue their professional development.

John Hutton: We are discussing with the British Medical Association a new framework for exclusions, including the provision of support: mechanisms for those staff subject to exclusion.

Staff:Patient Ratios

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff to patient ratio in the NHS hospitals in Havering is.

John Hutton: Figures on staff to patient ratios are not collected centrally. Information on the number of staff and activity at Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust is shown in the tables.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine, Community Health Services (HCHS) and General and Personal Medical Services: All NHS staff by organisation—as at 30 September 2002
		
			 Barking, Havering andRedbridge Hospitals NHSTrust RF4 Numbers (headcount) 
		
		
			 All NHS staff(81) 6,113 
			 Medical and dental staff(81) 538 
			 Non-medical staff(82) 5,575 
			 GPs(83) (84)— 
		
	
	(81) Data excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.
	(82) Figures for London based on the Strategic Health Authority Areas Q04 North West London SHA, Q05 North Central London SHA, Q06 North East London SHA, Q07.
	South East London SHA, Q08 South West London SHA, and RRU the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
	(83) All Practitioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para. 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
	(84) Not available
	Sources:
	Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.
	Department of Health Non-medical Workforce Census.
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
	
		Department of Health (England), Hospital Episode Statistics—2001–02(85)
		
			 Hospital providers Admissions 
		
		
			 RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 101,292 
		
	
	(85) Ungrossed data
	Notes:
	1. Admissions—Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Grossing—Figures have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
	
		Non-admitted patient attendances, Barking Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust
		
			 Type of attendance 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Accident and Emergency   
			 First 175,262 171,121 
			 Total 184,028 185,578 
			
			 Out-patient   
			 First 126,535 126,833 
			 Total 430,026 415,326 
			
			 To ward for treatment by nurses: total 16,961 16,072 
			 Imaging and radiodiagnosticexaminations/tests: total 389,597 394,630 
			 NHS day care facilities: total 3,430 3,044 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Both first attendances and total attendances have been included where available. Total figures include subsequent attendances where the same patient has returned for further treatment.
	2. A patient can also have more than one first attendance if they are receiving treatment for different conditions.
	Source:
	Department of Health dataset KH09, KH05, KH12, KH14.

Television Sets (NHS)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many television sets there were in hospitals in each of the last five years in England; and what proportion operated with stand-by units.

John Hutton: This information is not collected centrally.

Television Sets (NHS)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use of televisions with stand-by units within NHS premises.

John Hutton: Televisions are in use throughout National Health Service premises. The vast majority of modern stand-alone televisions in use will have stand-by units incorporated within the sets.

Waiting Times

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average waiting times for cleft lip and palate surgery for children in Greater London in each year since 2000.

John Hutton: holding answer issued 6 November2003
	The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Main Operation (OPCS4 F03, F29) Correction of Deformity of Lip or Palate
		
			  
		
		
			 London Regional Office of Residence 
			 Age on Admission 0–17 years 
			 Count of Finished In year Admission Episodes (Waiting List and Booked Cases) and Average Time Waited 
			 NHS Hospitals, 2000–01 and 2001–02 
			  2000–01  2001–02 
			 Main Operation Admissions Mean Time waited (days) Admissions Mean Time waited (days) 
			  
			 FO3 Correction of Deformity of Lip 60 70.6 81 79.1 
			 F29 Correction of Deformity of Palate 66 77.1 56 88.6 
			 Overall Figures 126 74.0 137 83.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	Admissions
	Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Grossing
	Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 which is not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	Main Operation
	The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set, and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. Time Waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with operations.
	Time Waited
	Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Ward Housekeepers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 43W, on ward housekeepers, if he will list the hospitals (a) which have already begun to introduce ward housekeeping services and (b) which have yet to begin to introduce this service.

John Hutton: The latest available information has been placed in the Library.

Website

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the content and design of his Department's website.

Rosie Winterton: A programme of research among users of the Department's website was undertaken in Autumn 2001. The objective was to inform changes to the site design, notably to the home page and top-level section pages, which were implemented during 2002. These re-designs were supported by usability testing (observing users carrying out specified tasks). Tracking research was conducted late in 2002 to assess progress and further inform future development.
	In November 2002 the Department began working with the Office of the e-Envoy to migrate the Department's website to the new Central Government Infrastructure. As part of this process and based on the findings of the user research exercises and feedback from website users, all content was reviewed. The Department is now in the process of implementing major improvements which will address the key needs of site users, namely the site structure, more targeted quality content, improved searching, consistency of design and branding, improved navigation and meeting accessibility standards for users with disabilities. The new website will go live at the end of 2003.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Post Office Card Accounts

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of Post Office card account applications were started but not completed in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: These are matters that fall within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Card Accounts

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions the handbook for postmasters operating the Post Office Card Account has been changed since the start of financial year 2003–04; and if she will list, for each update, the principal changes incorporated.

Stephen Timms: These are matters that fall within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Breast Feeding

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she plans to take to allow employees to take work breaks for breastfeeding.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this Question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Broadband

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what sums have been paid to (a) BT and (b) NTL to assist in the roll out of broadband services, broken down by (a) year and (b) region.

Stephen Timms: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Business Support Schemes

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her plans for business support schemes.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

CERN Project

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of UK funds directed towards the CERN project is being treated as capital against resource.

Patricia Hewitt: At this point in time, the UK subscription to CERN is not formally divided into capital and resource and is currently regarded as resource expenditure. This is an area of discussion between HM Treasury, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council and my department. It should be noted that CERN is currently in the middle of a 12 year, Euro3.2 billion project to construct the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which will be the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Its expected commissioning date is April 2007.
	Whilst capital spend at CERN will fall to almost zero in 2007 when the LHC machine is completed, CERN have negotiated a loan to facilitate the expenditure profile with a repayment schedule to 2011. This will mean that a proportion of the UK subscription will be used for capital repayment to 2011. In parallel, as the operations and exploitation phase begins, an increasing fraction of the UK subscription will be devoted to meeting the associated operating costs. The following table of capital expenditure is estimated by taking the UK's share of CERN's capital spending plans.
	
		UK CERN subscription and UK share of CERN's capital expenditure plans -- £ million(86)
		
			  2000–1 2001–2 2002–3 2003–4 2004–5 2005–6 2006–7 2007–8 
		
		
			 UK CERN subscription 69.1 66.2 68.9 71.5 71.4 72.1 72.1 72.1 
			 UK share of CERN capital spend plans 17.3 48.3 50.3 50.8 48.6 43.3 21.6 7.2 
			  (percentage) 
			  25 73 73 71 68 60 30 10 
		
	
	(86)The figures are in pounds and UK financial years, but the subscription is actually set in Swiss Francs and calendar years, and also varies according to the UK's net national income in comparison to that of other Member States. The figures for 2003–4 and onwards are latest estimates.
	In addition, the UK is supporting the construction and operation of a number of experiments at CERN as part of its domestic particle physics budget. These consist of large pieces of capital equipment for CERN but the expenditure is counted as resource for HM Treasury purposes. The LHC capital element of this funding has been estimated by identifying the contributions towards the detectors and similar items and is shown in the following table:
	
		UK domestic expenditure on CERN experiments -- (£million)
		
			  2000–1 2001–2 2002–3 2003–4 2004–5 2005–6 2006–7 2007–8 
		
		
			 UK domestic expenditure on CERN instruments 13.3 17.4 23.4 27.0 27.8 24.2 23.7 20.6 
			 LHC Capital element 11.2 14.8 19.0 19.1 16.8 12.0 8.0 2.2 
			  (percentage) 
			  84 85 81 71 60 50 34 10 
		
	
	(87)The figures are in pounds and UK financial years, but the subscription is actually set in Swiss Francs and calendar years, and also varies according to the UK's net national income in comparison to that of other Member States. The figures for 2003–4 and onwards are latest estimates.

CERN Project

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the resource amount is of the funds that have been directed towards the CERN project.

Patricia Hewitt: CERN is the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, an international organisation established in 1954 in Geneva. The UK is a founder member. The total resource allocated to the UK subscription to CERN over the previous three years and the projected figures for 2003–4 to 2007–08 are shown below 1 .
	
		Total resource for UK subscription to CERN
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1999–00 48.8 
			 2000–1 69.1 
			 2001–2 66.2 
			 2002–3 68.9 
			 2003–4 71.5 
			 2004–5 71.4 
			 2005–6 72.1 
			 2006–7 72.1 
			 2007–8 72.1 
		
	
	In addition, the UK is supporting the construction and operation of a number of experiments at CERN as part of its domestic particle physics budget. The total resource allocated to this over the previous five years and the projected figures for 2003–4 to 2005–06 are shown below.
	
		UK domestic expenditure on construction and operation of CERN experiment -- £ million
		
			  1997–8 1998–9 1999–00 2000–1 2001–2 2002–3 2003–4 2004–5 2005–6 
		
		
			  
			 LHC 0 8.3 10.1 11.2 16.8 23 26.7 27.6 24.0 
			 Other 3.5 3.2 2.4 2.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 
			 Total: 3.5 11.6 12.6 13.3 17.4 23.4 27.0 27.8 24.2 
		
	
	(88) The figures are in pounds and UK financial years, but the subscription is actually set in Swiss Francs and calendar years, and also varies according to the UK's net national income in comparison to that of other Member States. The figures for 2003–4 and onwards are latest, estimates.

Childhood Obesity

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with other departments about implementing a strategy to tackle childhood obesity.

Patricia Hewitt: None.

Civil Service

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people from science and technology backgrounds have been seconded into the Civil Service in her Department in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Civil Service

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the number of civil servants from her Department seconded to (a) the private sector, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) other bodies, since May, broken down by (i) organisation, (ii) grade of civil servant and (iii) start and completion dates.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 18 November 2003
	From records held centrally in my Department, the information requested is as follows.
	
		Civil servants that have been seconded from the Department of Trade and Industry since 1 May 2003 (total 16)
		
			 Organisation Grade of civil servant Start date Expected completion date 
		
		
			  (a) To the private sector (total 5) 
			 Resource Range 6 (EO) 1 May 2003 1 October 2004 
			 BP Fast Stream 9 June 2003 8 December 2003 
			 Impax Capital Corporation Ltd. Range 10 (Grade 7) 13 October 2003 14 October 2005 
			 BNPL Range 10 (Grade 7) 27 October 2003 4 April 2004 
			 BT Range 8 (HEO) 10 November 2003 6 August 2004 
			 
			  (b) To non-governmental organisations (total 4) 
			 London Development Agency Fast Stream 12 May 2003 13 May 2005 
			 Advantage West Midlands Range 6 (EO) 15 September 2003 14 September 2004 
			 East Midlands Development Agency Senior Civil Servant 22 September 2003 23 September 2005 
			 Scottish Enterprise Range 8 (HEO) 16 October 2003 1 October 2005 
			 
			  (c) To other bodies (total 7) 
			 Australian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development Range 10 (Grade 7) 5 May 2003 10 August 2004 
			 British Standards Institution Range 9 (SEO) 30 May 2003 30 May 2006 
			 London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Range 6 (EO) 15 September 2003 16 September 2005 
			 Financial Reporting Council Range 11 (Grade 6) 15 September 2003 31 March 2004 
			 Financial Reporting Council Range 11 (Grade 6) 22 September 2003 31 March 2004 
			 Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry Range 10 (Grade 7) 13 October 2003 30 January 2004 
			 Gateway to London Range 10 (Grade 7) 3 November 2003 3 November 2005 
		
	
	In addition to the above figures, since 1 May 2003, 19 DTI senior civil servants have completed a "Week in Business". 15 completed their week in the private sector, two in non-governmental organisations and two in other bodies.
	The aim of the "Week in Business" short term external attachment scheme is to help the Department to become more outward facing with a greater understanding of the issues facing our external stakeholders. It is also key in helping members of the SCS to gain experience of different ways of working so that good practice can be adopted internally.
	The scheme is also a means of promoting the DTI to our external customers and making them more aware of how the Department operates and what we can offer.

Combined Heat and Power

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the United Kingdom's combined heat and power generation capacity was on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available; and what estimate she has made of how much capacity will be in place by 2010.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply 
	and shall write to the hon. Member shortly.

Correspondence

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the letter of 31 July from the hon. Member for Christchurch about restrictive and anti-competitive practices resulting from the Energy Efficiency Commitment programme.

Stephen Timms: The hon. Member's letter was transferred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for answer as her Department has the lead for the Energy Efficiency Commitment programme.

Correspondence

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department will reply to the letter of 9 July from the hon. Member for Aylesbury on behalf of Ms C.Clements of Loosley Row, Bucks.

Mike O'Brien: The reply was sent to the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 19 November 2003.

Credit Card Cheques

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will introduce measures to ban the unsolicited sending of credit card cheques to existing card holders.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government believes the key to protecting consumers from the adverse effects of such practices as the unsolicited sending of credit card cheques is ensuring responsible lending—expecting the industry to carry out adequate checks before sending credit card cheques; and ensuring all information is adequate and transparent. We are not currently considering introducing measures to ban the unsolicited sending of credit card cheques. Our approach is to empower consumers to make informed decisions. To this end we will outline measures in the Consumer Credit White Paper to ensure responsible lending across the range of lending practices.
	Any further action is best taken through industry codes of practice. The industry is introducing measures to ensure greater transparency in the issuing of credit card cheques, including the information provided to consumers; and I have asked my officials to work with the industry to examine what further measures are necessary to address the concerns raised by the Treasury Select Committee.

Electricity

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the effect of a failure of the continental gas interconnector on electricity generation in the United Kingdom.

Stephen Timms: The DTI-Ofgem "Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group" (JESS) monitors security of supply of gas and electricity in Great Britain. JESS's work has included discussion of NGT's "Winter Operations Report 2003/04" which assesses the outlook for electricity and gas supplies in the coming winter. The report was published on 14 October, and is available, with Ofgem's comments, on Ofgem's website (www.ofgem.gov.uk). It covered the interaction between electricity generation and gas supply.
	NGT's overall assessment for electricity supply in the Great Britain (GB) for this winter was that while the generation margin has risen slightly, it was lower than in previous years, but there would be enough power to meet the forecast demand for electricity this winter under all but the most exceptional circumstances.
	NGT's report noted that of the CCGT stations, all but 2.7 GW either have firm gas contracts or are able to use alternative fuels. This represents some 4 per cent. of the total generating capacity that NGT projected for this winter.
	Since NGT's report was issued further generating plant has returned from mothball.
	In prolonged severe winter weather, delivery of sufficient gas to meet demand (including for electricity generation) would depend on high production levels from the UKCS, and the availability of gas from storage and through the continental gas interconnector.
	The interconnector has proved reliable when it is in import mode. As with any offshore infrastructure, the loss of a large supply source would reduce the resilience of the gas network and reduce the availability of gas-fired generation to the electricity network. However, there are strong financial incentives on parties to the interconnector to reduce the incidence and extent of any failures. Furthermore, in recent winters the interconnector has operated mainly in export mode.
	NGT are taking a number of steps to reduce the risks to electricity supply that they have identified in the Winter Operations report. For example, they have recently undertaken a tender for additional reserve generating capacity.

Electricity

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the costs to (a) business and (b) consumers of the loss of electricity supply on (i) 28 August, affecting South London and parts of Kent and (ii) 5 September, affecting the East Midlands and West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry has not conducted a formal assessment of the costs of these events on electricity consumers.
	The London event affected some 476,000 consumers and the Midlands event affected some 201,000 consumers. In both cases power supplies were restored to all consumers within an hour.
	The Department recognises that the consequences of these power failures were serious, with disruption to surface rail, underground street lights and traffic systems, water supply and sewerage systems as well as to electricity users in homes and workplaces.
	The Department submitted a memorandum to the Trade and Industry Committee on 14 November 2003 which explains the Department's role in investigating the circumstances of these events, and includes a discussion on specific lessons to be learned from these events and from other recent major power interruptions in America and Europe.
	The events are also being investigated by Ofgem. The main objective of Ofgem's investigation is to examine whether there has been a breach or breaches, of the statutory or licence obligations which apply to National Grid Company and the relevant distribution network operators involved.

Energy Supplies

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to publish the Sustainable Energy Policy Network reports (a) First Retrospective Security of Supply Report and (b) Initial Conclusions of Energy Services.

Stephen Timms: Ofgem expects to publish the first retrospective security of supply report by the end of the year and then to publish subsequent reports every six months. The Government expect to report the initial conclusions on its work on energy services shortly.
	Both these reports are part of the work of the Sustainable Energy Policy Network which is implementing the Energy White Paper "Our energy future—creating a low carbon economy".

Energy Supplies

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many power stations have received planning permission in each year since 1997; what the capacity is of each; how many of them are in operation and what their capacity is; and how many projects which received planning permission have had their permission revoked because they did not commence construction in the stipulated time, with the planned capacity of such plants.

Stephen Timms: The following power stations in England and Wales have been approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and Industry since 1997:
	
		
			 Power Station Approved Size (MW) Type Status 
		
		
			 Enfield 26 February 1997 360 CCGT Operational 
			 Coryton 14 March 1997 720 CCGT Operational 
			 Winnington 10 April 1997 150 CHP GT Operational 
			 Seal Sands 10 April 1997 60 CHP GT Operational 
			 Sutton Bridge 20 May 1997 790 CCGT Operational 
			 Saltend 7 August 1997 1,200 CHP CCGT Operational 
			 Sandbach 21 August 1997 58 CHP GT Operational 
			 Port Talbot 22 October 1997 200 CHP GT Not built 
			 Fawley 22 October 1997 130 CHP GT Operational 
			 Great Yarmouth 23 October 1997 350 CCGT Operational 
			 Snodland 11 December 1997 60 CHP GT Operational 
			 Bury St. Edmunds 18 February 1998 80 CHP GT Operational 
			 Bridgewater 7 May 1998 65 CHP GT Operational 
			 Shoreham 5 August 1998 400 CCGT Operational 
			 Shotton 3 December 1998 215 CHP GT Operational 
			 Castleford 3 December 1998 55 CHP GT Operational 
			 York 15 February 1999 70 CHP GT Operational 
			 Stoke 14 May 1999 60 CHP GT Operational 
			 Baglan Bay 16 July 1999 525 CCGT Operational 
			 Blackburn 27 July 1999 60 CHP GT Operational 
			 Cantley 9 December 1999 70 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Runcorn 15 September 2000 250 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Spalding 15 November 2000 800 CCGT Under construction 
			 Partington 15 November 2000 380 CCGT Unknown 
			 Fleetwood 15 November 2000 1,000 CCGT Unknown 
			 Isle of Grain 15 November 2000 1,200 CCGT Unknown 
			 Raventhorpe 15 November 2000 450 CCGT Unknown 
			 Langage 15 November 2000 1,010 CCGT Unknown 
			 South Killingholme 22 March 2001 700 CCGT CHP Under construction 
			 Halewood 4 April 2001 70 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Trafford Park 10 May 2001 65 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Avonmouth 14 September 2001 180 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Cefn Croes 23 May 2002 60 Onshore Unknown 
			 Scroby Sands 17 April 2002 78 Offshore Under construction 
			 Carrington 18 July 2002 65 CHP GT Unknown 
			 Marchwood 28 November 2002 860 CCGT Unknown 
			 North Hoyle 31 July 2002 90 Offshore Under construction 
			 Rhyl Flats 12 December 2002 150 Offshore Unknown 
			 Barrow 10 March 2003 108 Offshore Unknown 
			 Kentish Flats 12 March 2003 129 Offshore Unknown 
			 Burbo Bank 9 July 2003 90 Offshore Unknown 
			 Hatfield Colliery 5 August 2003 430 IGCC Unknown 
			 Cromer 21 October 2003 108 Offshore Unknown 
			 Gunfleet Sands 21 October 2003 108 Offshore Unknown 
			 Inner Dowsing 21 October 2003 90 Offshore Unknown 
			 Lynn 21 October 2003 90 Offshore Unknown 
		
	
	Notes:
	CCGT: Combined cycle gas turbine
	CHP: Combined heat and power
	GT: Gas turbine
	IGCC: Integrated gasification combined cycle
	Onshore: Onshore wind turbine farm
	Offshore: Offshore wind turbine farm
	The permissions are normally valid for five years from the date of issue and it is a commercial matter for the developer concerned on whether or not to implement his consent. The Secretary of State has not revoked any permissions. Permissions for power stations in Scotland are a matter for the devolved administration.

Energy Supplies

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 21 October 2003, Official Report, column 491W, on British Energy, how much of the credit facility available to British Energy has been drawn down by the company; and what plans she has to seek to extend this credit facility.

Stephen Timms: As at 19 November 2003, British Energy had drawn down £112 million of the £200 million credit facility available.
	There are no plans to extend the duration of the credit facility. As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said in her written statement of 14 October 2003 drawings under the credit facility can be made up to the date of the European Commission's decision on the Government's proposed restructuring aid, or 30 September 2004, whichever is earlier. Repayments under the credit facility have to be made by the earlier of the restructuring effective date or 30 September 2004.

Environmental Protection

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the DTI/Defra Joint Environmental Markets Unit is consulted when her Department carries out regulatory impact assessments of new environmental protection measures to ensure that benefits of the measures to the UK (a) environmental technology and (b) services industry are included.

Stephen Timms: Regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) of new environmental protection measures are undertaken in accordance with the Cabinet Office Guidelines—"Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment". Among other things, this says RIAs should take account of the potential dynamic benefits of regulations and an assessment of all the business sectors affected—both positively and negatively. As part of this process, policy-makers consult with relevant stakeholders, including where appropriate representatives of the environmental goods and services industry who will then have the opportunity to make the case for the benefits. Like other parts of Government with an interest, the Joint DTI/Defra Environmental Markets Unit will contribute as appropriate and as part of the policy-making process within Government.

Estate Agents

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 11 September 2003, Official Report, column 391W, on estate agents, how many complaints have been (a) made, (b) investigated and (c) upheld by the Office of Fair Trading since 1 August; what action was taken in relation to each complaint upheld; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The information is as follows:
	(a) The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received 94 complaints about estate agents between 1 August and 14 November 2003.
	(b) All complaints are investigated in line with the OFT's statutory duty to superintend and enforce the Estate Agents Act 1979.
	(c) 23 complaints against estate agents have been upheld between 1 August and 14 November 2003.
	16 of these have resulted in the issuing of Advisory Letters to estate agents reminding them of their statutory obligations. Seven have resulted in the issuing of warning letters advising the estate agents that if any further evidence of a failure to comply with their statutory obligations was to come to the attention of the OFT, consideration would be given to the taking of formal action including the possibility of them being banned from engaging in estate agency work. A number of the more complex and serious complaints received since 1 August is the subject of on-going investigations.
	I now expect the OFT to publish its report on estate agents in the New Year. I will study the recommendations carefully.

Estate Agents

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2003, Official Report, column 380W, on estate agents, whether she has received the report of the Director General of Fair Trading; and when she expects to publish the report.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) received 94 complaints about estate agents between 1 August and 14 November 2003.
	(b) All complaints are investigated in line with the OFT's statutory duty to superintend and enforce the Estate Agents Act 1979.
	(c) 23 complaints against estate agents have been upheld between 1 August and 14 November 2003.
	16 of these have resulted in the issuing of Advisory Letters to estate agents reminding them of their statutory obligations. Seven have resulted in the issuing of warning letters advising the estate agents that if any further evidence of a failure to comply with their statutory obligations was to come to the attention of the OFT, consideration would be given to the taking of formal action including the possibility of them being banned from engaging in estate agency work. A number of the more complex and serious complaints received since 1 August is the subject of on-going investigations.
	I now expect the OFT to publish its report on estate agents in the New Year. I will study the recommendations carefully.

Exports

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will list for each of the last 20 years the (a) contracts with, (b) materials involved in and (c) value of trade deals with Iraq agreed with the support of the Export Credit Guarantee Department for which payment from Iraq has not been received.

Mike O'Brien: ECGD has unrecovered claims of around £623 million arising from contracts with Iraq signed prior to the first Gulf conflict in 1991. This amount does not include interest, which, it is estimated, could bring the figure to around £1 billion.
	These claims stem from more than five hundred cases supporting the export of goods ranging from consumer items to heavy industrial equipment. The details of these contracts could only be collated at disproportionate cost.
	ECGD has not been on cover for business in Iraq since 1991.

Exports

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with industry stakeholders to ensure that arrangements are in place to provide the necessary training and information to employees concerning their obligations to meet the compliance regulations inherent in export control licence procedures.

Nigel Griffiths: The Export Control Organisation of the DTI undertakes a variety of work to raise awareness and understanding of export controls, including regular seminars and company visits from Compliance Officers. Guidance on export licensing matters, including a Compliance Code of Practice is published on the Export Control Organisation website. Companies are informed of developments in export controls through Notices to Exporters, including by way of automated e-mail notification.
	The new controls introduced by Orders made under the Export Control Act 2002 will come into force on 1 May 2004, after a six-month implementation period to allow adequate time for industry and Government to prepare for the new controls. Government officials have worked closely with business since the public consultation ended in April 2003, and will continue to work with industry during the implementation period.

Exports

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to ensure that defence-related companies are aware of the implications of the Export Control Act 2002; and what efforts her Department is making to ensure that such companies are equipped to meet the deadline for applications.

Nigel Griffiths: Industry has been made aware of the new export control legislation proposals since they were first proposed in the White Paper in 1998, and all the major companies and organisations have been in direct contact with Government. The Government has provided a full six-month implementation period for the new controls it gives industry adequate time to understand them and prepare. The DTI has published detailed user guidance on the new controls, developed with industry input and including details of a number of new open licences available. The DTI is also running a series of seminars to raise awareness and understanding of the new controls, and how to comply. Further seminars, and also workshops and regional roadshows will be organised by Trade Associations with DTI participation in the New Year. The DTI is also enclosing notices with export licences alerting exporters to the new controls and sources of information. DTI Compliance Officers are advising companies of the new obligations during routine compliance visits. DTI officials will continue to work closely with industry representatives to monitor the progress of the awareness campaign during the implementation period.

Exports

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements her Department has made for (a) assessing and (b) processing applications for export control licences from May 2004.

Nigel Griffiths: As is currently the case, all export licence applications received under the new controls will be assessed under the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.
	The Export Control Organisation and other Government Departments have started preparations to adapt its business processes, including re-deploying and training staff in order to process new applications.

Exports

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will take steps to ensure that armaments manufactured in the UK carry (a) a unique serial number, (b) the name of country of production and (c) the name of the company that manufactured the weapon.

Nigel Griffiths: Responsibility for the control of arms manufacture in the UK is shared between several Government Departments. The Ministry of Defence takes responsibility for the markings required for defence equipment procured for use by HM Forces. The Home Office requires, under the Firearms Rules 1998, that all firearms manufacturers and dealers keep detailed records to include make, calibre, identification number and maker's name of all firearms. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for coordinating the UK implementation and support for the UN programme of action on Small Arms and Light Weapons. The DTI has responsibility for the export licensing of strategic goods and considers export licence applications in consultation with other Government Departments.

Fisheries

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on recent developments on vessel eligibility for the compensation scheme for former Icelandic trawlermen.

Nigel Griffiths: The compensation scheme for former Icelandic trawlermen is being amended to include vessels that fished in areas within Icelandic waters, as defined in the scheme, but where proof of this was not available because they were traditionally recorded as Faroes vessels. This decision has been reached following representations from the Independent Adjudicator for the scheme.
	Those who have reasonable grounds for believing that vessels made at least two trips to Icelandic waters including disputed areas such as Rosengarten and Working Man's Bank have been invited to put them forward in writing to my officials by 19 December 2003.
	Decisions on which vessels are added to the list will be taken by my
	Department on the following criteria:
	The vessel must have the full support of the trawlermen' s representatives;
	it must have a recorded and extensive history of Faroes fishing;
	the size and weight of the vessel;
	the length of the voyage;
	the makeup of the crew; and previous information already received about the vessel's trips to disputed areas, principally Rosengarten and Working Man's Bank.
	In January the Department will publish a list of accepted vessels. There will then be a period of three weeks in which to query any vessels that have not been included on the list in writing and giving reasons. A final list will be published during February 2004.
	When vessels have been added to the list, my officials will re-examine claims made under the scheme, which closed in October 2002, and pay additional compensation to those which qualify.

Gas Market

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the ability of the market to respond to the demand for gas in a 1 in 20 winter peak day in (a) winter 200304 and (b) each year up to and including 200910 should supplies from existing and new development projects fall below maximum levels.

Stephen Timms: Earlier this month my Department and Ofgem published the third report by the Joint Energy Security of Supply Working Group (JESS). JESS was set up to assess the risks to the UK's future gas and electricity supplies.
	The JESS report highlights both the level of existing potential gas capacity, and the very significant levels of proven, probable and possible future investments over the next 10 years. It identifies a number of potential supply-side developments, including additional import connections with Norway; new LNG import terminals; more interconnection with continental Europe; upgrades to existing interconnectors; and additional gas storage capacity.
	The report concludes that the market can respond to the demand for gas in the next decade (including peak gas demand or sustained high demand), by drawing on maximum supplies from existing and proposed new developments, including some of those which at present are less certain.
	Meanwhile the recent agreement with the Norwegian Government will facilitate the development of projects that could meet some 20 per cent. of UK gas demand from 2007.
	JESS has also been considering demand-side flexibility, including the responsiveness of the market to high prices at periods of high gas demand. Voluntary reductions in consumption by major consumers, if technically and commercially feasible, could play a significant role in balancing the market in such circumstances.
	The Government continue to monitor the gas demand and supply situation.

Intellectual Property

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to increase the transfer of intellectual property (a) between businesses and (b) between business and academia.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Internet

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to ensure that deprived communities do not suffer an information deficit from lack of access to the internet.

Stephen Timms: Taking steps to ensure that deprived communities in both urban and rural areas do not suffer an information deficit from lack of access to the internet is one of the Government's key priorities. The Government recognise that internet access helps deprived communities to achieve social inclusion by benefiting from the knowledge economy. The Government's actions include:
	6,000 UK Online Centres by end 2002 to provide either free or low-cost internet access with support for first-time users. Some 3,000 of the Online Centres are public libraries. 2,000 of the UK Online Centres are located in the most deprived wards. Currently, 100 per cent. of public libraries have internet access, of which some 85 per cent. have a broadband connection;
	199 million was made available from the Capital Modernisation Fund to help fund UK Online Centres in deprived communities;
	a 30 million Broadband Fund administered by the Regional Development Agencies and devolved Administrations to run pilot projects to extend broadband availability to benefit SMEs among others in deprived communities;
	DTI's Broadband Aggregation Project, announced in July 2003, which aims to secure value for money for public sector provision and ensure this has maximum impact on the provision of broadband for communities in deprived areas;
	a joint DTI and Defra Rural Broadband Team, which was set up in May 2003 to address the issue of availability of broadband in rural areas, especially in deprived areas.

Invicta Motors

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will visit Invicta Motors in Chippenham to inspect their first production model.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 6 November 2003
	I regret that I am unlikely to be able to visit the company in the near future but hope to be able to meet them at next year's motorshow. I would, however, like to take this opportunity to wish them every success with their new sportscar.

Inward Missions Scheme

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes she plans to make to the Inward Missions Scheme following the review by UK Trade and Investment; when the changes will come into effect; and if she will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Changes resulting from the review of the Inward Missions Scheme are still under consideration. Decisions are expected soon, and all organisations that have been involved in the Scheme over recent years, and all those that were consulted as part of the review, will be informed. Any changes will be phased in from 1 April 2004.

Manufacturing

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many manufacturing jobs have been (a) created and (b) lost in South Yorkshire in each of the last five years.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Jeff Ennis, dated 20 November 2003
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of manufacturing jobs that have been created and lost in the last 5 years in South Yorkshire. I am replying in his absence. (138738)
	There are no figures for jobs created or lost but an indication can be obtained by comparing the annual surveys of employee jobs. The Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) gives an estimate of the number of employee jobs in December of each year; the latest year for which figures are available is 2001.
	The ABI was preceded, prior to 1998, by the Annual Employment Survey. This inquiry had a different structure to the ABI and so direct comparisons cannot be made between the AES and ABI at a regional level.
	Between 1998 and 2001 the ABI data show a net decrease in the number of manufacturing employee jobs in South Yorkshire of 32,500.

Manufacturing

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many manufacturing jobs have been (a) created and (b) lost in Scotland in the last 12 months.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	This matter falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who will write to the hon. Member. A copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Miners' Compensation

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been paid out in full in each area of the British coalfields; and what the latest total amount paid is.

Stephen Timms: As at the end of October 2003 the regional headline statistics breakdown is:
	
		
			  Wales Scotland Notts, Derbys  Leics Yorkshire North East Midlands South/South East 
		
		
			 Respiratory disease
			 Total claims received () 55,000 20,000 20,000 116,500 79,500 20,000 7,000 
			 Full and final settlements () 20,000 5,000 7,000 29,000 19,000 3,000 2,000 
			 Total Damages paid ( million) 273 66 49 259 197 25 20 
			 
			 VWF
			 Total claims received () 21,000 11,000 22,000 60,000 45,500 5,000 4,000 
			 Full and final settlements () 11,000 4,000 11,000 24,000 21,000 3,000 2,000 
			 Total Damages paid ( million) 112 62 123 340 325 26 25

Miners' Compensation

Dennis Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims have been paid out in full in the (i) East Midlands and (ii) Bolsover constituencies.

Stephen Timms: As at the end of October 2003 in the Bolsover constituency 4,162 have received an offer in full and final settlement of their claim. In relation to Vibration White Finger, 2,249 have received an offer in full and final settlement. In total we have paid out 48.5 million in interim and full and final settlements to claimants in Bolsover.
	The correspondence figures for the Midlands are for respiratory disease 3,000 and for Vibration White Finger 3,000 totalling 51million.
	A breakdown of both regional and constituency headline statistics is available on the Department's websitewww.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth

Miners' Compensation

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether ex-workers from the phurnacite coking works at Abercwmboi in the Cynon Valley are eligible to claim for bronchitis and emphysema under the Mineworkers' Compensation Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: Workers in phurnacite coking workers do not fall within the parameters of the British Coal Respiratory Disease Litigation High Court judgment. As such claims can not be processed under the resulting scheme, but can be pursued as personal injury claims under common law.

Miners' Compensation

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will release records of dust levels recorded before 1991 at the phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi in the Cynon Valley.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department has always released dust records in line with requests received through the courts, and will be happy to release such records in the case of litigated phurnacite plant claims.

Miners' Compensation

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-miners have in Airdrie and Shotts benefited from the Government's health compensation schemes; and what the average level of compensation paid has been to ex-miners in Airdrie and Shotts.

Nigel Griffiths: As at the end of October 2003, 685 have received an offer in full and final settlement of their claim for respiratory disease. In relation to Vibration White Finger, 79 have received an offer in full and final settlement. In total we have paid out 5.4 million in interim and full and final settlements to claimants in Airdrie and Shotts.
	We estimate the average payment for respiratory disease is 7,700 and for Vibration White Finger it is 7,200.
	A breakdown of both regional and constituency headline statistics is available on the Department's websitewww.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth.

Metrology

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons Recommendation R125 of the International Organisation of Legal Metrology on measuring systems for the mass of liquids in tanks has not been implemented.

Stephen Timms: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

National Minimum Wage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in Wales will have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We estimate that around 60,000 workers in Wales stood to benefit when the minimum wage was introduced in April 1999, and that 60,00070,000 workers in Wales stood to benefit from the rate increases that took place in October 2003.

National Minimum Wage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage in each parliamentary constituency since its introduction; and how many (a) recorded cases and (b) successful prosecutions there have been of employers who have failed to pay the minimum wage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not possible to estimate the total number of people who have benefited from the minimum wage since its introduction. This is because the actual beneficiaries are likely to change each year as people move into or from low paid jobs. It is also not possible to provide specific estimates of the number of people who have benefited from the minimum wage by parliamentary constituency. However we estimate that around 1.2 million people stood to benefit when the minimum wage was introduced in April 1999 and that 11.2 million people stood to benefit from the rate increases that took place last month.
	Between April 1999 and October 2003 the Inland Revenue completed around 28,000 investigations and recovered around 14 million in minimum wage arrears on behalf of workers. The great majority of cases are successfully settled without the need for further enforcement action. To date there have been no criminal prosecutions of employers.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on services provided to her Department by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department's accounting records show that the DTI has spent 1,000 on the services of NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1997.

Nuclear Reprocessing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place in the Library copies of the inter-governmental agreements relating to the repatriation of nuclear materials to Italy consequent upon reprocessing activities in the UK.

Stephen Timms: The inter-governmental letters referred to represent confidential correspondence between HMG and the Government of Italy. As such it would not be appropriate to accede to the hon. Member's request.

Nuclear Reprocessing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of whether proper arrangements are in place in respect of nuclear material from Italy currently in the UK for (a) their repatriation to Italy in a safe and timely way and (b) their safe storage in the UK pending dispatch; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what arrangements are in place for the repatriation to Italy of (a) plutonium and (b) uranium recovered in the UK by BNFL.

Stephen Timms: The arrangements in place for reprocessing of overseas spent fuel contain options for return of wastes. The Government intend that such options should be exercised and that wastes arising from reprocessing be returned to the country of origin. It has been the practice of successive Governments to obtain, before a contract for the reprocessing of foreign spent fuel is signed, assurances from the relevant government that it will take no legislative or regulatory steps to prevent the return of wastes arising under the contract.
	The adequacy of the facilities for managing those wastes is a matter for their owners and the regulatory authorities of the country concerned in accordance with the relevant legislation of that country.
	We have an extremely stringent regulatory framework in place to ensure that the storage and eventual repatriation of nuclear materials conforms with all national and international regulations. Ensuring the safety of activities at nuclear installations is the highest priority for the Government and everyone involved in the UK civil nuclear industry.

Nuclear Reprocessing

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions have been held by (a) Ministers and (b) officials with BNFL in the last two years relating to the future (i) location and (ii) storage of reprocessed nuclear fuel from Italy; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: There have been no discussions between Ministers and officials with BNFL in the last two years relating to these matters.

Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what requirement she has placed on BNFL to report to her in advance on plans to seek contracts in the United States to help develop its nuclear weapons programme;
	(2)  what discussions she has held with BNFL in respect of the compatibility with articles (a) one and (b) six of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of plans by BNFL to bid for a contract with the United States to build and operate a nuclear administration warhead production plant at Savannah River, South Carolina.

Stephen Timms: There have been no formal discussions between my Department and BNFL on this issue. BNFL's business interests on US DOE sites through its subsidiaries relate to the environmental clean up market and not the weapons production business. The company is precluded by US Department of Energy (DOE) Security Agreements from involvement in the US defence programme.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Caton) on 13 November 2003, Official Report, column 403W.

Outsourcing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the number of jobs being lost in the UK from companies out-sourcing work overseas.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade and Investment on 23 October 2003, Official Report, column 667W.

Outsourcing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many jobs have been out-sourced abroad in the last three years; and what estimate her Department has made of the likely numbers in the next five years.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government does not have statistics on the numbers of jobs outsourced abroad in the last three years. Importantly, estimates of jobs outsourced abroad take no account of the inflows of jobs created through the UK's success in international markets.

Overseas Visitors (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many international overnight visits were made to Wales in each of the past 10 years, broken down by country of origin, listed in descending order.

Patricia Hewitt: This information is not kept by my Department.

Patents

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many patents were taken out by British universities in each of the last 20 years; how many patents funded from public services have resulted in the development of commercial products in each of the last 20 years; and how much public funding has been allocated to developing products from patents taken out by British universities in each of the last 20 years.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Patents

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what representations she has had from the European Federation of Journalists on the European Directive on patenting computer-related inventions; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: The patentability of computer-implemented inventions has been the subject of a wide- ranging consultation exercise, and submissions on the proposed Directive have been received from individuals, companies and representative bodies. However we have not been able to trace any representations from the European Federation of Journalists. If you are aware of such a communication I would be grateful for further information.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost was of (a) setting, (b) monitoring and (c) measuring the performance targets for her Department in 200203; and how many and what grades of civil servants monitor these targets.

Patricia Hewitt: Performance targets for the department were agreed as part of Spending Review 2002. The monitoring and measurement of PSA targets forms part of departmental performance management. Performance management is an integral part of the day to day running of the department, and as such it is not possible to separate the specific costs out. The monitoring of progress towards, and performance against, the department's PSA targets is undertaken by a wide variety of staff at all levels of the organisation.

Post Office Closures

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will obtain from the Chief Executive of Post Office Ltd. a list of consultation exercises carried out by Post Office Counters since 1 January concerning proposed closures of urban (a) sub-post offices and (b) branch offices; how many and what percentage of such exercises resulted in the intention to close being withdrawn; and if she will place the information in the Library.

Stephen Timms: Proposals for closures of branch offices, and of sub-post offices under the urban network reinvention programme, are put out to public consultation in accordance with the code of practice agreed with Postwatch. Final decisions on closure proposals, after consideration of representations received, are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Closures

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices were closed in Dorset between June 2001 and June 2003; and if she will make a statement on her policy in relation to possible future closures.[R]

Stephen Timms: I understand that since March 2000 the company has recorded details of post office closures, including those under the urban reinvention programme, which commenced in late 2002, on the basis of Government region and country. It does not record details of closures on a county basis, as it has no operational need for such data. However, I understand from Post Office Ltd. that in the South West region of England there were net closures of 82 post offices between end June 2001 and end June 2003.
	The Government has placed a requirement on Post Office Ltd. to maintain the rural network and to prevent avoidable closures of rural offices. The development of post office closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. within the framework of the Code of Practice agreed with Postwatch and the requirement that at the end of the programme 95 per cent. of the population in urban areas will still live within one mile of a post office.

Postal Services

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Postcomm on the exemption for UK postal service providers from VAT; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Department has a regular dialogue with Postcomm on a wide range of postal issues concerning the postal market. The particular issue of the VAT exemption is a matter for the Treasury.

Preferential Trade Status (Israel)

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Israel's preferential trade status with the EU.

Mike O'Brien: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Privatisation (Advertising Budgets)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the advertising budget was for each privatisation of a nationalised industry since 1979.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Radiation-related Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what compensation has been paid by nuclear companies to those suffering from radiation-induced illness in each of the past 20 years.

Stephen Timms: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

SMEs

Eric Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to increase the audit exemption levels for small and medium-size companies; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 19 November that the audit exemption threshold would be increased to 5.6 million turnover.
	This will help relieve some administrative burdens on up to 69,000 companies.

Solar PV Programme

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government will announce the start date for the solar PV major demonstration programme phase two.

Stephen Timms: The 20 million First Phase of the Major Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme is due to end in March 2005. It is intended that decisions on further funding for PV will be made in the first half of 2004.

State Aid

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 29 October 2003, Official Report, column 257W, on state aid, if she will list the occasions since 1997 when the Government has made representations (a) in response to notices published in the Official Journal in accordance with Article 88 (2) of the EC Treaty, (b) in cases before the European Court of Justice and (c) on behalf of UK businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: As indicated in my reply on 29 October no register of interventions is maintained. Such information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Technology Sector

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on Government action to encourage the growth of the technological sector in the United Kingdom.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Technology Sector

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the Government intends to encourage home grown United Kingdom technological manufacturers.

Patricia Hewitt: I have not been able to answer this question before Prorogation. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Telephone Masts

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many telephone masts there are in (a) Somerset, (b) Devon, (c) Dorset, (d) Wiltshire and (e) Cornwall.

Stephen Timms: According to information registered on the Radiocommunications Agency's Sitefinder, which shows the location of cellular transmission sites, the number of transmitters in the counties specified isapproximately:
	(a) Somerset: 270;
	(b) Devon: 660;
	(c) Dorset: 230;
	(d) Wiltshire: 320;
	(e) Cornwall: 370.
	There may be more than one transmitter at any one location because of mast sharing so the numbers of masts would be lower.

Tobacco

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what support her Department offers to British cigarette manufacturers seeking to develop markets in the developing world.

Mike O'Brien: UK Trade and Investment, in principle, provides services to all UK companies selling legal products, through the provision of trade, investment and political information on overseas markets, taking into account local circumstances. Special guidelines apply however for the tobacco industry, where Diplomatic Posts must not be associated with the promotion of tobacco products for example by accepting sponsorship for activities, or advertisements in publications, or attending events designed overtly to promote them.

Trade (USA)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will examine the use of (a) mutual and (b) multilateral legal assistance treaties by the United States of America in enforcing end-user control.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	Where there is a case of diversion or fraud by a private individual, we already look to co-operate with the authorities of friendly countries to bring the perpetrators to justice. Legal assistance treaties are of little use in cases of alleged misuse by governments.

Trade Missions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a trade mission will be sent to Kuwait in the near future; and what plans she has to establish better trading relations with Kuwait.

Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom has established and productive trading relationships with Kuwait. The Gulf region is traditionally an important market for UK goods and services and the UK commercial presence there is strong.
	We have a regular programme of outward Trade missions to Kuwait, and to the Gulf region as a whole, as part of the range of activities we sponsor in support of UK companies wishing to enter and expand into overseas markets.

UK Science

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the progress of joint working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the promotion of UK science, engineering and technology.

Patricia Hewitt: Significant progress has been made.
	DTI and FCO are members of two STfocused inter-departmental committeesthe Chief Scientific Adviser's Committee (CSAIC) chaired by the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir David King, and the International Science Technology Trade and Investment Committee (ISTTIC) chaired by the UKTI Chief Executive, Sir Stephen Brown.
	Castaic's remit is to establish awareness of Britain as a world leader in ST; to promote international research collaboration to the benefit of the UK science base and world science; and to promote UK science policy on issues with a science dimension. Attic's remit is to deal with the wealth potential arising from the UK's strengths in science and technology by concentrating on the trade and investment agenda.
	There is regular interaction between officials arising from their work on the operational committees, which support the two main committees.
	Examples of joint working include:
	The jointly agreed geographical deployment of UK Science and Technology Attaches in our overseas posts;
	The Klatch magazine, which is published jointly by science and technology groups (DTI,FCO AND UKTI) of Government to showcase British science and technology strengths and promotes inward investment opportunities into the UK;
	Collaboration on major campaigns in North America, China, Japan; in relation to inward and outward missions with posts abroad; and in the world-wide DNA 50 celebratory events;
	Working together to provide briefing to Ministers and VIPs travelling abroad;
	Liasing on cross cutting issues such as CERN, European Space Organisation and the, Asia/Pacific Technology Network;
	The provision on a monthly basis to our post overseas of briefing material and news stories on science and technology developments in the UK for use in increasing awareness of Britain's status as a leading player in world science;
	FCO involvement in the Doffs Innovation Review.

Website

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the content and design of her Department's website.

Patricia Hewitt: The DTI has been undertaking a thorough-going review of its website this-year. This has included extensive research into what our customers require from the DTI website. Previous research has shown high levels of satisfaction with the content on the site, but problems with presentation and structure. We have therefore commissioned a comprehensive redesign of the site, to increase its focus on our customers' needs. This has included testing the usability and accessibility of the site with customers.

Wind Turbines

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help she gives individual factories which wish to develop alternative sustainable power supplies, with particular reference to wind turbines.

Stephen Timms: The Renewables Obligation, which requires licensed electricity suppliers to supply a specified proportion of electricity from renewable sources reaching 10.4 per cent by 2010, is our main vehicle for encouraging renewables. Under the Obligation companies generating electricity from eligible renewable sources for their own use, for example, in a factory they own, can benefit from the Obligation. They can do this by making an arrangement to sell that renewable electricity to a licensed supplier and to buy the same electricity back for their own use. The electricity sold and bought back will be eligible for Renewables Obligation Certificates.
	In addition, electricity derived from renewable sources may be eligible for exemption from the Climate Change Levy.

Work-related Stress

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases of work related stress have been reported in her Department in each of the last three years; how much compensation has been paid to employees; how many work days have been lost due to work related stress, and at what cost, what procedures have been put in place to reduce work related stress, and at what cost; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: Data on work-related stress are not collected separately in my Department.
	We are committed to maintaining a safe working environment for staff and to reducing absences caused by any sickness or injury. The Department provides advice and counselling services that help both managers and staff tackle work-related stress.

TRANSPORT

Ballast

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which British ports have facilities for treating ballast from ships.

David Jamieson: All ports are required to provide waste reception facilities which are adequate to receive waste from ships normally using the port. However, the discharge of clean ballast water is not yet controlled by legislation and as such no ports in the UK have facilities for treating ballast water to reduce the threat of non-indigenous species invasion through ballast water exchange at sea.
	If ballast water is contaminated by oil onboard an oil tanker then the discharge and treatment of this water is strictly controlled by oil pollution regulations. Some oil terminals, such as Flotta in Scapa Flow in Orkney, have local requirements that all ballast water from tankers is discharged ashore and their reception facilities may include treatment to remove oil cargo residue.

Ballast

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents involving ships clearing out their ballast tanks there have been in (a) British waters and (b) Liverpool Bay in each year over the past 20 years; how many prosecutions have resulted; and what actions he is taking to prevent ships from clearing out their ballast tanks in British waters

David Jamieson: The discharge of clean ballast water is not yet controlled by legislation and the UK do not keep records of this operation either in British Waters or in Liverpool Bay, or require that vessels do so.
	However, existing legislation does impose strict controls on the discharge of oily ballast water. This is enforced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) through means such as aerial surveillance and inspections on vessels. As of 1 August 1999, all discharges of oil are strictly controlled in North West European waters as designated under International Convention. In the prosecutions that the MCA have secured it is very difficult to apportion the discharge to contaminated ballast water.

Heathrow Airport

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of whether Terminal 5 will handle passengers using the third runway at Heathrow Airport if constructed.

Tony McNulty: In our appraisal of the option for a third runway at Heathrow, we are considering a number of options for the handling of the additional passengers associated with a new runway. However, the contribution of Terminal 5 in handling these passengers was not included in any of these options other than for, possibly, transferring passengers.

Heathrow Airport

Richard Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has drawn up for expansion of capacity on the M25 if a third runway is constructed at Heathrow Airport.

Tony McNulty: We are considering the potential impacts on the strategic road and rail networks of all
	the options for new airport capacity.

Heathrow Airport

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on public transport of additional staff commuting to Heathrow Airport after a third runway was constructed;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on road traffic congestion in West London of additional staff commuting to Heathrow Airport after a third runway was constructed;
	(3)  what measures the Government will put in place to meet the change in demand for housing in West London to accommodate additional staff at Heathrow Airport should a third runway be constructed;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on the availability of affordable housing in West London of a third runway being constructed at Heathrow Airport;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the compatibility of plans for construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport with the Government's commitment to sustainable development, with particular reference to housing needs in West London;
	(6)  what input his Department has had into the White Paper on the Future Development of Air Transport in the UK, with particular reference to the proposal to construct a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Tony McNulty: In the appraisal of all of the options for new airport capacity, including a third runway at Heathrow, we considered a wide range of impacts. This included the potential impact of development on surface transport networks, employment, and housing and urbanisation.
	These issues, together with responses to the consultation, will help inform Government decisions for the air transport White Paper which we aim to publish by the end of the year.

London Underground

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to reinstate independent electricity supplies to the London Underground; and at what cost.

Tony McNulty: Following the power failure on 28 August, London Underground Ltd. (LUL) initiated an investigation of the incident and the effectiveness of their response. LUL will be publishing their report in the near future. Responsibility for London Underground transferred from Government to Transport for London (TfL) in July. Any future decisions on the power supply are for TfL and the London Mayor.

London Underground

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of security measures on the London Underground to counter the threat of terrorism.

Kim Howells: In July this year my Department issued legally binding Instructions to London Underground Ltd. to formalise protective security measures already place. A supporting London Underground Security Programme was issued in August. This regime builds on the sound measures developed by LU and BTP over the past 30 years. The regime is designed to be responsive to the level of threat and to be proportionate. The security procedures are subject to inspection by inspectors from my Department.

Air Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air accidents involving United Kingdom-registered airlines were reported for the last decade for which figures are available; and what the comparable accident level was for airlines registered in (a) the Republic of Ireland and (b) Germany.[R]

Tony McNulty: The following table sets out the number of total loss accidents for the United Kingdom, German and Irish airlines contained in the Airclaims CASE database for the period 1 January 1993 to 1 December 2002. The CASE database has been used as neither the Department nor the Civil Aviation Authority hold details of accidents involving German and Irish Airlines. A total loss accident is one in which the aircraft is damaged beyond economic repair.
	
		Total Loss Accidents for the Period 1 January 1993to 1 January 2003
		
			  Passenger Operations Cargo Operation 
			  Aircraft  5700kg mtwa Aircraft  5700kg mtwa Aircraft  5700kg mtwa Aircraft  5700kg mtwa 
		
		
			 UK airlines 1 5 1 7 
			 German airlines 1 5 1 1 
			 Irish airlines 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	mtwa = maximum total weight authorised
	These figures are not directly comparable because of differences in other factors such as the number of hours flown.

Air Travel

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of people from the bottom 10 per cent. of income earners travelled by air in each year from 2000 to 2002.

Tony McNulty: This information is not available.

Air Travel

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from individuals and organisations opposed to an expansion in air travel in the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: Many thousands of letters, questionnaires, cards and petitions have been received as responses to the consultation on the future development of air transport in the UK, which closed on 30 June 2003. On publication of the White Paper we expect to make all responses available for public inspection, unless consultees have explicitly requested confidentiality.

Aircraft Pollution

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will press the International Civil Aviation Organisation to examine the issue of night flights and aircraft noise at their next meeting.

Tony McNulty: The reduction of aircraft noise is a major strand of work within the environmental programme of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
	ICAO Resolution A337, adopted in 2001, emphasises the need for states to adopt a balanced approach to aircraft noise management, on an airport-by-airport basis. Key elements were incorporated into EU Directive 2002/30/EC and are now enshrined in UK law by The Aerodromes (Noise Restrictions) (Rules and Procedures) Regulations 2003(S.I.No. 1742).
	The agenda for the next meeting of ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) in February 2004 will allow for substantial discussion of noise issues.

Aircraft Pollution

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will press the International Civil Aviation Organisation to examine the issue of air pollution caused by aircraft at their next meeting.

Tony McNulty: Air pollution caused by air transport is a major strand of work within the environmental programme of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
	The Government regards this as important work and will continue to press ICAO for stringent action at the next meeting of its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) in February 2004.

Arson (Railways)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of arson on the railways there have been since March 2002, broken down by (a) train operating company and (b) line.

Tony McNulty: The Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI), advise that for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 there were 162 train fires in Great Britain caused by arson. A table recording the 162 incidents broken down by train operating company and by route is being deposited in the Libraries of the House.
	During the same period there were also 84 fires at passenger stations, signal boxes and on the railway infrastructure reported to HMRI, although information is not currently available on how many of these were due to arson.
	In addition, the British Transport Police have recorded 388 crimes of arson on the railways during the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003.

Buses

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with (a) local authorities and (b) major bus operators on bus re-regulation.

Tony McNulty: The current statutory framework for buses is set out in the Transport Act 2000. As with all other legislation, we keep the situation under review. Ministers therefore continue to discuss these matters with a number of groups and individuals representing both local authorities and bus operators.

Consultancy Contracts

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many consultancies were commissioned by his Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was.

Tony McNulty: The Department was formed on 29 May 2002. 1,036 orders for consultancy valued at 122.2 million were raised in 200203. 717 orders for consultancy valued at 19.6 million were raised in the first six months of 200304.

Consultants

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) the Rail Delivery Directorate, (ii) the Railways Restructuring Directorate and (iii) other directorates within his Department carrying out work relating to the railways, in (A) 200203 and (B) 200304 to date.

Tony McNulty: The total value of consultancies used by DfT relating to the railways was 24.6 million in 200203 and in 200304 it has been 13.6 million to 31 October. Only a very small proportion of this expenditure relates to call-off contracts.
	The figures include expenditure on contracts for legal and other advice.

Consultants

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by predecessor departments on external consultants in matters relating to transport in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) consultants used, (b) the nature and (c) the cost of the work in each case.

Tony McNulty: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member, placing a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.

Consultants

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) the Rail Delivery Directorate, (ii) the Railways Restructuring Directorate and (iii) other directorates within his Department carrying out work relating to the railways, since 6 February; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was .

Tony McNulty: Since 6 February the Department has been using the following consultants to give the advice listed:
	
		
			 Consultant Advice 
		
		
			 On a call-off basis  
			 Eversheds Advice on rail pension issues 
			 Odgers Ray and Berndstson Advice on senior recruitment 
			   
			 Saxton Bampfylde Hever plc Advice on senior recruitment 
			   
			 Other contracts  
			 AEA Technology Rail Research into feasibility of development of a performance prediction model 
			 Arthur D. Little International comparison of the perception of risk in the rail industry 
			 Citigroup (Schroder Salomon Smith Barney) Financial advice 
			 CMS Cameron McKenna Legal advice on rail matters 
			 Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstem Channel Tunnel Rail Link Section 1 leasing feasibility study 
			 Dr. Stephen Gibbons 
			 Dr. David Graham 
			 Prof Stephen Machin 
			 Prof Anthony Venables 
			 Prof Roger Vickerman Advice on wider benefits of Crossrail 
			 KPMG Accountancy and taxation advice 
			 Mercers Management Consulting Management consultancy advice on matters relating to the cross-Channel rail industry 
			 Mott Parsons Gibb Project representatives for the channel tunnel rail link 
			 NOP Development of a survey into attitudes, perceptions and expectations of rail travel 
			 Saunders and Dolleymore Trade mark services 
			 Transport and Travel Research Development of a framework for research into attitudes, perceptions and expectations of rail travel 
		
	
	The value of work done by individual consultants and advisers is commercially confidential, but, for all of them together, expenditure from 6 February to 31 October amounts to 16.5 million.

Consultants

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department and its predecessors on external research and consultants in (a) 200203 and (b) 200304 to date, broken down by (i) aviation, (ii) local transport, (iii) mobility and inclusion, (iv) roads, vehicles and road safety, (v) shipping, (vi) integrated transport, (vii) railways, (viii) science and research, (ix) transport statistics, (x) freight logistics and (xi) other subjects.

Tony McNulty: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member, placing a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.

Decommissioning (American Ships)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2003, Official Report, column 436W, on decommissioning (American ships), what steps he is taking to ensure further US ships follow the advice of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has approved passage plans for the ships in question and will do so in future transits of this kind, as well as monitor ship movements against the approved plans. Flexibility must be provided for legitimate and safe alterations to the precise routes followed when circumstances justify such amendments. The Secretary of State can intervene only if the ships are in UK waters. At that point, he may give a direction only if it is necessary for securing the safety of the ship, other ships, persons or property or for preventing or reducing significant pollution.

Departmental Expenditure (Official Residences)

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed on 29 May 2002. It does not have any residential properties used by Ministers. A small number of residential properties are used by officialsfor example coastguardsas an essential part of their operational duties. Details could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driving Licences

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 2W, on driving licences, if he will make a statement on the nature of the detailed research to ensure ease of completion of the driving licence application form; what process was used to undertake the research; what the results were; and what measures he has taken to implement its findings.

David Jamieson: To improve customer service a new driving licence application form, fulfilling the functions of two previously separate forms, was introduced in May 2003. As part of its development research was conducted to assess the effectiveness and ease of use of the form and its accompanying information leaflet. Testing was supported by a specialist research organisation and the Plain English Campaign. DVLA 'road tested' the literature using a wide variety of suitable organisations in both the public and private sector, a cross section of members of the general public and, a selection of school children approaching driving age. Over 90 per cent. of participants found the form easy to complete. A number of suggestions from test subjects were also adopted helping to improve layout and content.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the dates of meetings of the EU Committee for senior labour inspectors during the Danish and Greek presidencies, what items were on each agenda; what representative of the Scottish Executive was present on each occasion; what preparatory meetings were held for each meeting; which officials were present at each preparatory meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply.
	The Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) met in Denmark from 57 November 2002
	The meeting considered the following matters: progress with the SLIC Work Programme including progress with several working groups dealing with specific topics, the assessment of health and safety systems in EU and Applicant Countries, future co-operation with Applicant Countries and the role of SLIC in the future health and safety at work European strategy.
	The Senior Labour Inspectors Committee met in Greece from 2123 May 2003
	The meeting approved the 2002 SLIC Annual Report and considered the following matters: all of the items listed for the Danish meeting, cross border enforcement of labour inspection matters and European Commission health and safety activities.
	No preparatory meetings were held and no representative of the Scottish Executive attended either meeting.

M6 Toll

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the operators of the M6 toll will be required to contribute towards the policing costs of the road.

David Jamieson: Midland Expressway Limited will not be required to contribute towards the policing costs of the M6 Toll.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 13 November, Official Report, column 436W, on Decommissioning (American Ships), (a) for what reasons and (b) in what circumstances advice is given by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to vessels navigating United Kingdom waters; and in what circumstances the Agency can enforce its guidance.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has approved passage plans for the ships in question and will do so in future transits of this kind, as well as monitor ship movements against the approved plans. Flexibility must be provided for legitimate and safe alterations to the precise routes followed when circumstances justify such amendments. The Secretary of State can intervene only if the ships are in UK waters. At that point, he may give a direction only if it is necessary for securing the safety of the ship, other ships, persons or property or for preventing or reducing significant pollution.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I shall write to the hon. Member placing a copy of my letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mobile Telephones

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines and advice he has issued to business employers on the ban on the use of mobile telephones while driving; and which business and employers' organisations received such information.

David Jamieson: The Department has not issued guidelines and advice specifically for business employers. The Department has however e-mailed 1,000 large employers drawing their attention to the new regulations and to the Department's general advice and publicity materials, which are relevant to all road users.
	That general advice is in the form of Frequently Asked Questions which is available on-line at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_025216.hcsp.
	That includes a specific question and answer that is relevant to employers.

National Travel Survey

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bath of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 72W, on the National Travel Survey, if he will break down the information provided by household income quintile.

Tony McNulty: A summary of the information will be placed in the Libraries of the House. The sample sizes of the National Travel Survey are too small to provide a full breakdown at the requested level of detail.

Off-road Cycleways

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of off-road cycleways there are in each county in England; and what the projected increase in off-road cycleways is over the next (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years for each county in England.

David Jamieson: Information about the lengths of off-road cycle tracks away from the road is not held centrally.
	We are encouraging all local highway authorities to increase the provision of cycle facilities both on and off the road through their Local Transport Plans and monitoring their progress through the English Regional Cycling Development Team.

Overflight Restrictions (Germany)

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations have been made by his Department to (a) the German Government, (b) the European Commission and (c) the Council of Ministers in relation to the recent decision by the German Government to impose overflight restrictions into Zurich airport; and what assessment he has made of its effect on (i) British interests and (ii) bilateral British-Swiss trade and investment.

Tony McNulty: The Department has made no such representations. The German decision is the subject of a complaint by the Swiss Government to the European Commission, which may be followed by an application to the European Court of Justice. We are currently assessing possible effects of the overflight restrictions on UK interests.

Pilotage

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is informed when pilot services are offered to vessels about to navigate United Kingdom waters.

David Jamieson: The Department is not informed when pilot services are offered to vessels about to navigate United Kingdom waters.

Pilotage

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rules govern pilotage in United Kingdom waters.

David Jamieson: Pilotage in United Kingdom waters is governed by the Pilotage Act 1987. The Act places a duty on Competent Harbour Authorities to keep under consideration whether any, and if so what, pilotage services need to be provided to secure the safety of ships navigating in or in the approaches to its harbour. Ships navigating in UK waters outside the jurisdiction of a competent harbour authority are not subject to pilotage.

Pilotage

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what liaison took place between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and their French counterparts concerning the route taken by the US ships (a) Canister and (b) Caloosahatchee through the English Channel.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency agreed the passage plan for these ships in consultation with the French maritime authorities, who were kept up to date throughout the ships' transit.

Public Subsidy

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the level of public subsidy is (a) per passenger mile travelled, (b) per passenger and (c) per head of population for (i) rail, (ii) light rail and (iii) bus passenger transport in (A) England and (B) each English region for the latest year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 3 November 2003
	The form subsidy takes differs from one transport mode to another. Information on each mode is not available in the form requested, but the available data shows:
	(i) Rail
	In 200102 we provided public subsidy of just over 1 billion for railways in Great Britain. It is not possible to give rail figures for England only, nor is it possible to give any regional breakdown for rail subsidy. In Great Britain, the rail subsidy per passenger mile was 4 pence. The subsidy per passenger journey was 1.08. If calculated per head of population it was 18.16.
	(ii) Light rail
	There is no subsidy payment from central government to light rail operators, although the promoters of the schemes pay a form of subsidy through additional Revenue Support Grant payments resulting from the previous issue of Private Finance Initiative Credits. The Tyne and Wear Metro differs from other light rail in that it is treated as part of the national rail system for the purpose of revenue support. In addition, all light rail operators receive reimbursement for concessionary fares for older people, disabled people and children, on the same basis as local bus services.
	(iii) Bus
	In 200102 we provided public subsidy of 1.2 billion for buses in England. It is not possible to give a regional breakdown, other than for London, as an element of subsidy, Bus Service Operators Grant, is paid directly to the operators. For England, bus subsidy per passenger mile is not available. Subsidy per passenger journey was 31 pence. If calculated per head of population in England it was 24. For London, bus subsidy per passenger mile was 12 pence, or 27 pence per passenger journey. When calculated per head of resident London population, it was 53.60. This appears high as population data exclude non-residents and tourists who use buses in London.

Rail Safety

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fatalities and (b) serious injuries were incurred as a result of railway incidents in each year since 1973.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of fatalities and serious injuries since 1973 provided by the Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Passengers Rail staff Others Trespass plus suicide Fatalities Serious injuries 
		
		
			 1973 42 42 13 213 310 652 
			 1974 26 38 14 276 354 811 
			 1975 69 46 12 301 428 780 
			 1976 30 46 21 299 396 721 
			 1977 30 34 20 320 404 757 
			 1978 47 45 22 345 459 762 
			 1979 52 43 12 314 421 803 
			 1980 26 32 11 360 429 807 
			 1981 39 27 10 369 445 319 
			 1982 20 27 10 296 353 251 
			 1983 29 28 12 358 427 254 
			 1984 39 25 12 339 415 259 
			 1985 33 25 16 318 392 322 
			 1986 32 16 24 325 397 372 
			 1987 68 16 20 317 421 434 
			 1988 69 16 12 334 431 596 
			 1989 33 18 18 293 362 569 
			 1990 37 22 19 308 386 550 
			 1991(89) 39 22 20 363 444 495 
			 199293 18 11 10 264 303 536 
			 199394 17 8 16 262 303 484 
			 199495 17 9 16 264 306 485 
			 199596 11 5 12 246 274 471 
			 199697 17 2 6 252 277 310 
			 199798 26 3 19 265 313 351 
			 199899 20 4 15 247 286 376 
			 19992000 47 5 13 274 339 340 
			 200001 21 8 10 300 339 300 
			 200102 10 5 17 275 307 351 
			 200203 23 7 20 256 308 349 
		
	
	(89) 15 months from 1 January 1991 to 31 March 1992.

Rail Safety

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Network Rail on the implications for rail safety of the recent reduction in the number of managers with safety responsibilities in the organisation.

Tony McNulty: Employee management at Network Rail is an operational matter for the company. Safety is the top priority in the network's operation and maintenance and all decisions taken by Network Rail are subject to meeting the company's Safety Case.

Rail Safety

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the recommendations on rail safety made by Lord Cullen and Professor Uff being worked on by the industry which (a) have not been completed to the original timetable specified, indicating the expected date of implementation and (b) are within their specified deadline, listing by when they should be completed, and whether they are expected to meet this deadline in each case.

Tony McNulty: The Southall, Ladbroke Grove and Train Protection public inquiries made a total of 295 recommendations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advise that 216 recommendations have been completed; 42 are either still within their specified deadline or a deadline was not specified; and 37 have not been completed to the original timetable specified.
	The HSE advise that there is a range of reasons for action continuing on 37 of the recommendations beyond the dates put forward in the public inquiry reports, including the complexity of interrelated issues, the need for legislative change, or because industry is taking a broader look than the recommendations strictly require. HSE and industry have discussed and agreed alternative timescales.
	Details of each of the recommendations still to be completed, including action taken and to be taken, are given in the Health and Safety Commission's progress report'HSC report on overall progress as of April 2003 on the remaining recommendations from the Rail Public Inquiries'published in August 2003, which is available in the House Libraries. A summary of progress is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Public inquiry Total number of recommendations Completed Continuing 
		
		
			 Southall 93 92 1 
			 Train Protection 59 18 (90)21 
			 Ladbroke Grove 1 89 68 21 
			 Ladbroke Grove 2 74 38 (90)36 
			 Total 295 216 79 
		
	
	(90) There are 11 recommendations where action holder reports completion, but where HSE is not yet able to endorse this view.

Rail Safety

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the final reports into the rail crashes at (a) Hatfield and (b) Potters Bar to be published.

Tony McNulty: The Health and Safety Executive have published comprehensive reports on both the Hatfield and Potters Bar crashes, which have included technical findings, safety critical information and recommendations. The final reports on both these crashes, which will concentrate on action taken by the industry to implement the recommendations from earlier reports, can only be published following the completion of any legal action arising from the investigations.

Rail Safety

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the British Transport Police to conclude their investigations into the rail crash at Potters Bar.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police have advised me that they submitted a substantial report on the Potters Bar accident to the Crime Prosecution Service (CPS) in August 2003 and that they now await CPS advice on the matter.

Rail Safety

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many derailments there were in each month of the last year.

Tony McNulty: The Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate reports that there were 67 derailments on all railways during the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, which is reduction of 24 per cent. compared to the 200102 figure of 88. Of the 67, 42 occurred on Network Rail, four on London Underground, and 21 on tramways, metros or heritage railways. Two derailments resulted in fatalities and four resulted in minor injuries. A breakdown of the 67 derailments by month appears in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Network Rail LUL Other Total 
		
		
			 April 2002 4  1 5 
			 May 4  2 6 
			 June 4  2 6 
			 July 2  5 7 
			 August 1 1 5 7 
			 September 5  1 6 
			 October 2  1 3 
			 November 7  2 9 
			 December 1  1 2 
			 January 2 2  4 
			 February 5   5 
			 March 5 1 1 7 
			 Total 42 4 21 67

Rail Ticket Prices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the percentage price increase for (a) peak and (b) off peak journeys for each of the privatised rail company areas in each year since privatisation.

Tony McNulty: Information is not readily available in the form requested. However, the latest edition of the Strategic Rail Authority's statistics bulletin National Rail Trends (April-June 2003)  copies of which are available in the House Libraries, shows in Table 3.1 on page 23, statistics on the average change in the price of rail fares. Based on the overall figures in this table, for each year since 1995 and for all ticket types (both regulated and unregulated ) the year on year average change in the price of rail fares expressed as a percentages are as follows;
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 199596 2.6 
			 199697 2.5 
			 199798 3.8 
			 199899 3.9 
			 19992000 3.3 
			 200001 2.5 
			 2000102 2.0 
			 200203 3.1

Rail Ticket Prices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average cost per mile of rail travel in each EU country was in the last year for which figures are available, based on standard return fares.

Tony McNulty: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Railways

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of railway line there are in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland which are defined as (i) primary route, (ii) London and South East commuter route, for the UK, (iii) main secondary route, (iv) other secondary route, (v) rural route and (vi) freight route.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority's Strategy 'Specification of Network Outputs' classifies heavy rail routes in Great Britain into six broad categories. The route lengths under each category for (a) Great Britain and (b) Scotland are as follows: (i) primary routes (a) 8,859 km (b) 527 km; (ii) London and South East commuter routes (a) 3,722 km (b) not applicable; (iii) main secondary routes (a) 4,487 km (b) 1,367; (iv) other secondary routes (a) 7,214 km (b) 1,205 km; (v) rural routes (a) 3,533 km (b) 715 km; (vi) other freight only routes (a) 2,565 km (b) 247 km. The SRA Strategy provides for the acceleration of maintenance and renewal activity on the busiest parts of the network. These carry 80 per cent. of all passenger traffic and 70 per cent. of freight traffic. Maintenance and renewal costs on other routes will be at an appropriate level to reflect their actual usage. It will not compromise safety. This approach makes common sense.

Railways

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains departed from London King's Cross Station without advertised (a) first class accommodation and (b) refreshment facilities, in the first week of each month in 2003; and what percentage of trains leaving London King's Cross this represented.

Tony McNulty: This information is not collected by the Government or the Strategic Rail Authority.

Railways and Transport Safety Act

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the provisions of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 relating to blood alcohol levels in pilots, flight crew and other personnel to be implemented; and what the reasons are for the delay.

Tony McNulty: Part V of the Railways and Transport Safety Act will be commenced once the equipment to be used by the police to test suspected offenders has received formal approval for use at the new low aviation limit. This process is now approaching completion. On receipt of the necessary type approval certificates, a period of approximately one month will be required to modify existing police equipment and to train officers for its use in the aviation environment.

Road Accidents (Deer)

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents were caused by deer running onto the carriageway in each of the last five years; in how many incidents (a) injury and (b) death occurred; what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate fences are erected to contain the deer in areas where deer pose a significant danger to road users; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Libraries of the House.

Security (Ports)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many breaches of security have taken place at UK ports in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) region, (b) port and (c) type of breach.

David Jamieson: While inspectors do actively respond to notifications of security breaches or incidents the type of information is not available in the form requested and in any event it is not the practice to disclose such security details.

Speed Cameras

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which roads are fitted with SPECS speed cameras.

David Jamieson: Inner City Road, Nottingham and Lumbertubs Way, Northamptonshire are fitted with SPECS digital speed cameras systems.

Speed Cameras

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which department will receive the money generated by fines from the SPECS speed cameras.

David Jamieson: Fine revenue from any type approved camera system operating in safety camera partnerships is used to cover the cost of operating the cameras. All surplus goes to the Treasury.

Speed Cameras

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce SPECS speed cameras in the South West.

David Jamieson: None. It is a matter for local highway authorities and the police force in the relevant safety camera partnership to decide on what type approved camera equipment is deployed.

Speed Cameras

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from motoring organisations about SPECS speed cameras.

David Jamieson: None.

Speed Cameras

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the M4 section between Theale and Membury services is wired for SPECS speed cameras.

David Jamieson: There is no equipment located on the M4 between Theale and Membury services forming part of a SPECS enforcement camera system.

Strategic Rail Authority

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the (a) technical consultants and (b) financial consultants used by the Strategic Rail Authority since 7 January on a call-off basis; the total amount paid to each consultant; and the nature of the projects;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) the Health and Safety Commission and (ii) the Health and Safety Executive relating to railway matters since 6 February; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was;
	(3)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by the Office of the Rail Regulator, since 6 February, the nature of the assignment for each consultant, and the value of work done by each consultants;
	(4)  if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate, since 6 February, the nature of the assignment for each consultant, and the value of work done by each consultant;
	(5)  if he will list the technical and financial consultants employed by the Strategic Rail Authority since 7 January; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of each contract was;
	(6)  what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis, by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate in (i) 200203 and (ii) 200304 to date;
	(7)  what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis, by the Office of the Rail Regulator in (i) 199798, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 2003 to date;
	(8)  what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis, by the (i) Health and Safety Commission and (ii) Health and Safety Executive relating to railway matters in (A) 200203 and (B) 200304 to date.

Tony McNulty: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member, placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Terrorism (Railways)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of (a) terrorist activity and (b) suspected terrorist activity were recorded by (i) the British Transport Police and (ii) other organisations relating to the railways in (A) 2002 and (B) 2003 to date.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police have advised me that 205 threats were made against railway locations in 2002. In the period up to 31 October 2003 194 threats were made against railway locations. None of these resulted in an incident.

Trams (Edinburgh)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Transport Initiatives Edinburgh regarding the proposed tram lines connecting Edinburgh city centre with Edinburgh airport; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: My officials have met Transport Initiatives Edinburgh on at least three occasions to discuss the proposed tram and heavy rail links to Edinburgh.

Transport for London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers Transport for London has (a) to undertake prudential borrowing, (b) to raise finance on the financial markets and (c) to issue bonds.

Tony McNulty: The new prudential borrowing system starts on 1 April 2004. Transport for London is among the local authorities that will then have power to borrow without Government consent, provided that the debt is affordable. Authorities will, as now, be free to raise finance by a variety of means, including borrowing on the financial markets and issuing instruments such as bonds, as well as borrowing from the Government through the Public Works Loan Board.

Transport Staff

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff (a) were employed in 2002 and (b) are employed in each key area of the railway industry; what the total requirement for staff in each key area is; what assessment he has made of staff shortage numbers in each key area; and how many individuals are (i) in training and (ii) trained for each key area.

Tony McNulty: Figures are not kept in the form requested. The latest information on rail industry staff numbers comes from a survey carried out by the Rail Industry Training Council between November 2002 and April 2003. It showed that, in 2002, approximately 177,000 people were employed in rail related work covering 110 different occupations. There were also 702 vacancies classified as hard to fill. The number of trainees working toward a national qualification was estimated at 11,685.
	The Centre for Rail Skills was launched on 27 October 2003 to help the rail industry equip itself, in a cost effective way, with the right number of people with the right skills in place at the right time.

Transport Staff

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed in his and predecessor departments on functions relating to transport (a) full-time and (b) part-time, broken down by (i) units and (ii) divisions in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member, placing a copy my letter in the Libraries of the House.

Transport Staff

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff were employed by agencies with functions relating to transport (a) full-time and (b) part-time, broken down by (i) units and (ii) divisions in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Details of staff employed are published in each agency's annual report, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

US Warships (Disposal)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he will take to control the route of US ships bound for dismantling in Hartlepool.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has approved passage plans for the ships in question and will do so in future transits of this kind, as well as monitor ship movements against the approved plans.
	Only if the ships are in UK waters can the Secretary of State intervene. He may give a direction but only if it is necessary to secure the safety of the ship, other ships, persons or property or to prevent or reduce significant pollution.

Vehicles (Tinted Windows)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 17 November 2003, ref.138737, if he will place a copy of the guidelines in the Library.

David Jamieson: I have placed a copy of the guidelines in the Libraries of both Houses.

Wind Speeds (Severn Bridge)

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the wind speeds at the M48 Severn Bridge were at (a) 05:00, (b) 07:00, (c) 09:00, (d) 11:00, (e) 13:00 and (f) 15:00 hours on 3 November.

David Jamieson: I have asked the acting Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Stephen Hickey, to write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Stephen Hickey to Mr. Huw Edwards, dated 20 November 2003
	I have been asked by David Jamieson to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about wind speeds at the M48 Severn Bridge on Monday 3 November 2003.
	The maximum recorded wind speed gusts at the times requested were:
	05.0038.44 knots
	07.0029.26 knots
	09.0022.01 knots
	11.0026.52 knots
	13.0031.06 knots
	15.0021.54 knots
	As you know the Severn Bridge was closed from 05.10 on Sunday 2 November until 16.00 on Monday 3 November. Throughout this period forecasts were consistently in excess of 30 knots. The protocol then in place required that closures should remain in place until the gust wind speed had fallen and remained below 30 knots for 30 minutes and the forecast did not predict wind speeds increasing to over 30 knots within the next 4 hours.
	As part of the process for continual improvement of our service, our protocol was subsequently reviewed at a meeting on Friday 14 November. The protocol was amended with immediate effect so that in future the closure shall remain in place until the gust wind speed has fallen and remains below 30 knots for 30 minutes and the forecast does not predict wind speeds increasing to over 40 knots within the next 4 hours.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the timetable is for the introduction of computer systems to (a) monitor the activities of child protection agencies and (b) cross-reference knowledge held by other agencies through social services departments.

Margaret Hodge: In the Government's Green Paper Every Child Matters we set out our aim to share information across services and ensure professionals know of each others concerns at an early stage. To achieve this, we are proposing a local information hub in every local authority to enable professionals in all the local services which impact on children's lives to cross-reference knowledge, where appropriate, with other local children's services.
	In light of responses to the Green Paper Every Child Matters the Government will examine the potential benefits and risks of introducing ICT-based information sharing systems and whether it is feasible to overcome the considerable technical barriers. We will be evaluating the work of the Trailblazers in due course and will use their experiences to inform future developments.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the social services departments that have introduced a computer system (a) to monitor the activities of child-protection agencies and (b) to cross-reference knowledge held by other agencies as recommended by the Laming Report.

Margaret Hodge: Social Services Departments currently use a variety of methods for collecting and sharing information on children. The answer to ensuring child protection is not in the use of computer systems alone. We need practitioners to share information at an early stage about children who may be at risk of falling through the net. We propose in the Green Paper Every Child Matters to introduce local information sharing hubs in every local authority to help identify early indications that a child is in need of specialised support through the bringing together of the knowledge and expertise held by all local children's services.
	We are examining whether and how it is feasible to overcome the technical challenges in this area.

Child Protection

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the implications of the transfer of responsibility for the Child Benefit Office to the Inland Revenue, with particular reference to whether the office's ability to assist local councils with information in connection with child protection inquiries.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 10 November 2003
	I understand that some difficulties have arisen in this context in a particular case, and that the organisations concerned are prevented from following established practices with regard to information-sharing. My officials are looking into the case urgently, with the aim of finding a rapid solution that will enable the organisations to continue to share information in the same way that they have previously done.

Child Protection

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to insert into the Green Paper on Children at Risk a requirement for risk assessment in contact cases involving domestic violence or child abuse; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Green Paper, Every Child Matters, was published on 8 September and the consultation period extends until 1 December. I am happy to consider this proposal as part my broader consideration of the consultation responses. It would be premature to make a statement at the present time.

Child Protection

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment was made of the risk to children and young people in domestic violence situations in drawing up the Green Paper on Children at Risk; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Green Paper Every Child Matters sets out the Government's response to Lord Laming's Inquiry into the tragic death of Victoria Climbie and is intended to help all children including those at risk from domestic violence. It was published on 8 September and the consultation period will last until 1 December. It would be premature for me to make a statement at this time while the consultation process is still on-going.

Child Protection

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what further consultation will take place with young people about the services and facilities they need following the publication of the Green Paper, Every Child Matters.

Margaret Hodge: Consultation events on the Green Paper, Every Child Matters specifically aimed at children and young people, have been running since October.
	The aim of the consultation events is to gather ideas from children and young people about what the Government can do to improve services which directly affect them such as health, education, social services, youth offending teams and youth and leisure services.
	So far around 40 consultation events have taken place across the country and these have proved to be highly informative.
	There are a further 12 events scheduled between now and the end of November.

Computer Science Graduates

Ken Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what percentage of computer science graduates remain unemployed for 12 months or more following graduation.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Foster Care

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the most recent weekly contributions made by each local authority for children in foster care up to the age of 17 were; what these contributions were in 1997 prices; what the allowances were in 1997; and what assessment he has made of the differences in payments made by local authorities.

Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Day Care

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications were made to Ofsted for registration of day care facilities in the last three years in (a) Leeds and (b) England; and what the average time taken to process such applications was in (i) Leeds and (ii) England in the last year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

A-levels

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in each local education authority obtained an A-level in (a) physics, (b) chemistry, (c) German, (d) a modern foreign language other than French or German and (e) a classical language in the last year for which information is available; and what proportion each represented of (i) the 18-year-old cohort and (ii) the 18-year-old cohort in full-time education.

David Miliband: holding answer 17 November 2003
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Abusive Parents (Visitation Rights)

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what measures are being taken to change the system whereby abusive parents can gain visitation rights to their children;
	(2)  how many children were injured during contact visits with an abusive parent in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Margaret Hodge: In considering applications for contact (visitation rights) the courts apply the principle, enshrined in the Children Act 1989, that any decision must be based on what is in the child's best interest. We have amended the Children Act 1989 to extend the definition of harm to include harm to a child caused by witnessing domestic violence. We will commence this new provision as soon as resources allow. In 2001 the Government endorsed guidelines on contact and domestic violence produced by the Children Act Sub-Committee of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Board on Family Law. The guidelines have been promulgated and are being monitored and evaluated by research. I will shortly be announcing successful applicants for new supervised child contact centres, funded through joint Children's Fund/Sure Start funding. These new centres will provide safe venues where supervised contact in cases where safety is an issue can take place.
	Data about the factors underpinning contact applications, such as allegations about injuries caused to children during previous contact with an allegedly violent parent, are not collected, either by the courts or centrally.

Adult and Community Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on recent trends in (a) enrolment to and (b) funding of courses in adult and community education.

Ivan Lewis: I have set out separately the figures for expenditure and numbers of learners in (i) adult and community learning and adult education courses run through local education authorities; (ii) learndirect; and (iii) Skills for Life. Together these equate most closely to adult and community education.
	We have used the closest match between the figures for the number of learners and those for expenditure. Where there are differences these are explained in the footnotes.
	
		Adult education classes
		
			  Funding ( million)(91) All enrolments (million)(92) Former non schedule two (thousand)(93) 
		
		
			 Nov 2000 145 1.041 666 
			 Nov 2001 153 1.052 679 
			 Nov 2002 183 1.042 662 
		
	
	(91)Annual expenditure, by financial year, on adult and community learning run through local education authorities. The figures for 200203 include the budgets for Neighbourhood Learning (10 million) and family learning (7.5 million).
	(92)Number of enrolments as at 1 November each year in adult education courses run by local education authorities. These include both courses leading to qualifications which were, prior to 200102, funded by the Further Education Funding Council, and local education authority secured adult and community learning. These courses largely do not lead to formal qualifications. Enrolments are not the same as learners. Individuals on a number of courses are counted more than once.
	(93)These are courses offered by local education authorities which do not lead to formal qualifications. These figures equate most closelybut not exactlyto the budgets for adult and community learning.
	Source:
	Enrolment data taken from the Statistical First Review, published 15 May 2003.
	
		Learndirect
		
			 Date(academic year) Funding( million) Learner numbers (thousand) 
		
		
			 2000/01 49 137 
			 2001/02 134 347 
			 2002/03 171 485 
		
	
	
		Skills for Life
		
			 Date(academic year) Funding( million) Enrolments (thousand) 
		
		
			 2000/01 253 724 
			 2001/02 259 1,136 
			 2002/03 290 1,230 
		
	
	Note:
	Enrolment data includes Learning and Skills Council funded learning opportunities; estimates from the Offenders' Learning and Skills Unit; and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Agriculture Courses

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many admissions there were to agriculture courses at universities and agricultural colleges in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Building Schools for the Future

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will approve the bid made by the London Borough of Wandsworth under the Building Schools for the Future initiative.

David Miliband: The London Borough of Wandsworth has submitted a proposal to be part of the first wave of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), starting in 200506. We are assessing all proposals from local education authorities (LEAs) against the criteria set out in our guidance. We aim to announce early in the New Year which proposals will be proceeding in 200506 and, in March, we will announce a further, larger group of LEAs for the following years. The Government have committed itself in BSF to a long-term programme of rebuilding and renewal to ensure that secondary education in every part of England has facilities of 21st century standard.

CAFCASS

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Project Board to integrate finance, communication, human resources and case recording systems has been established by CAFCASS.

Margaret Hodge: A project was started in 2001 to develop an integrated case management system, including finance and human resources. This project was stopped as it was judged to be too high a risk. Government best practice is to reduce risk by breaking down large IT projects into smaller, more manageable, parts. Separate finance and payroll systems have now been procured by CAFCASS.
	A case recording project is now under way, to implement the key information elements for case management. A Project Board, chaired by the Chief Executive is managing this work. The case recording system is being designed to be compatible with the systems in place and those to be developed.

CAFCASS

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  when CAFCASS practitioners will have the facility to amend the computerised records of the children with whom they work;
	(2)  what additional resources CAFCASS has identified for the implementation of a case management system;
	(3)  what the planned expenditure by CAFCASS is on the small scale computerised case record index for implementation during 2004.

Margaret Hodge: In its first year, CAFCASS implemented an IT infrastructure giving all staff access to email, word processing, spreadsheet, internet and intranet facilities. By building on this infrastructure CAFCASS will be able to implement, from May 2004, a case recording system for 125,000.
	This will provide a national networked case database. Maintenance of the system, including amending children's records, will be an administrative rather than a practitioner function.
	The case recording system is the first stage of wider case management systems. Once the case recording system is successfully implemented, further work will be done on the options and costs for further development and implementation of the remaining aspects of case management systems support.

Childhood Obesity

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what discussions he has had with other Departments about implementing a strategy to tackle childhood obesity.

Stephen Twigg: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Children's Centres

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres there are in the United Kingdom; what plans he has to increase the number; and how many children each centre will be able to cater for.

Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Children's Commissioner for England

Jimmy Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what duties the post of Children's Commissioner for England will entail; and when the work force planning unit will be created;
	(2)  what resources will be made available to the Children's Commissioner for England.

Margaret Hodge: The Government set out in the Green Paper Every Child Matters our intention to legislate for the appointment of a Children's Commissioner as a new voice for all children and young people. The Green Paper indicates that the Commissioner should advise Government and engage with others, such as business and the media, whose decisions and actions affect children's lives. The Commissioner would ensure that the views of children and young people are heard, and report to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on progress against the outcomes for children set out in the Green Paper. Further details on the responsibilities and resources of the Commissioner will be made available in the light of the consultation, which runs until 1 December.
	Work is also progressing rapidly on establishing the new structures to be adopted within the Department for Education and Skills, including the children's work force unit, to ensure delivery of the Green Paper, and full details will be announced soon.

Children's Homes

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many inspectors of homes that care for children were carried out in Somerset in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

Margaret Hodge: 145 inspections of children's homes were carried out in Somerset during the year ended 31 March 2002. The number of homes due to be inspected in that year was 77, each home would expect to have both an announced (i.e. with prior notice) and an unannounced (i.e. without prior notice) inspection each year.
	In 200203, NCSC Inspectors carried out 60 announced inspections and 30 unannounced inspections of children's homes in Somerset.
	It is expected that the NCSC will perform two inspections per year (one announced and one unannounced). However, as 200203 was the first year in which the NCSC was operational it should be taken into account that a large proportion of homes would not have been registered until the latter part of that year. Therefore the second inspection although within the time frame might not fall until the following year 200304.

Children's Homes

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills where homes in Somerset which are used to have children in care are located.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not collected centrally. Information about de-registered children's homes prior to April 2002 is most likely to be kept by the local authority in which the home was registered.

Children's Homes

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the private companies which look after children in care in Somerset.

Margaret Hodge: As of 3 November 2003 the private companies, not voluntary organisations, charities or local authority providers, that have registered with the National Care Standards Commission to look after children in care in Somerset are:
	Families Care Ltd.
	Safe Haven Residential and Respite Care
	On Track (South West) Care Ltd.
	Sedgemoor
	New Horizon Centre Ltd.
	Crossways
	Sedgemoor College Ltd.
	Plus One Residential and Foster Care Ltd.

Children's Homes

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are in care in Somerset; and which counties they come from.

Margaret Hodge: Number of children looked after by Somerset CC, Bath and North East Somerset.
	
		UA and North Somerset UA at 31 March 2002(94),(95)
		
			 LocalAuthority Totalnumber of looked after children Number of children placed inside local authority boundary Number of children placed outside local authority boundary 
		
		
			 Somerset CC 335 325 5 
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA 145 105 40 
			 North Somerset UA 150 140 10 
		
	
	(94) All figures are rounded to the nearest 5. Numbers may not add-up to totals due to rounding.
	(95) Figures in this table exclude children looked after under a series of short term placements.

Commonwealth Education Conference

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) budget and (b) actual cost was of the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in Scotland last month.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 18 November 2003
	The administration, including the financial administration, of the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is a matter for the Scottish Executive. My Department will contribute a proportion of the conference costs, but I invite the hon. Gentleman to write to the Minister for Education and Young People at the Scottish Executive to seek the information he requires.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his definition of a universal service is in relation to Connexions.

Margaret Hodge: Connexions is available to all young people between 13 and 19 in England. The service comprises initial information and advice on the full range of learning options to 19 and beyond; in-depth guidance and support, or access to specialist help, on anything that might prove a barrier to learning; and access to personal development opportunities to help a young person grow into a rounded independent citizen. Information and advice on post-16 learning options, including details of Education Maintenance Allowances and the Connexions Card, is available from Connexions.
	The service is offered face-to-face in secondary schools, colleges and High Street centres, or electronically through Connexions Direct, the telephone- and web-based service. Connexions is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what minimum number of hours of careers and education advice each young person aged 13 to 19 can expect to receive from the Connexions Service.

Margaret Hodge: We do not specify a minimum number of hours of careers and education advice that young people should receive from the Connexions service. Connexions provides a service differentiated according to need. This includes advice on learning and career choices, as well as support on a wide range of other issues that represent a barrier to young people's participation and achievement in learning.
	Schools share responsibility for meeting the needs of young people in relation to making learning and career choices, including responsibility for delivering a curriculum-based careers education programme to all students in Years 911 (to be extended to Years 7and 8 from September 2004) and for managing the Key Stage 4 options exercise.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many personal advisers were employed by each Connexions Partnership in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Margaret Hodge: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average caseload of Connexions personal advisers working with people aged 13 to 19 who are (a) in school, (b) in college and (c) not engaged in employment, education or training was in the last year for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the caseloads of Connexions personal advisers is not collected centrally by the Connexions Service National Unit. Individual Connexions Partnerships set allocations for each institution in their area and for working with those not engaged in employment, education or training. These allocations determine the caseloads of personal advisers and are based on an assessment of need in each institution and area.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of people aged 13 to 19 who were in (a) school, (b) further education college and (c) neither school nor further education college, received advice from Connexions in (i) 200102, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 200304.

Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people aged 13 to 19 in (a) school and (b) further education college were identified as needing intensive support by Connexions in (i) 200102, (ii) 200203 and (iii) 200304.

Margaret Hodge: The table below shows the number of young people in (a) compulsory education, and (b) post-compulsory education (both school and further education colleges) identified as needing intensive support and in depth guidance from Connexions in August of each of the last three years. The information relates only to Connexions Partnerships that were operational at that time.
	
		
			  200102 200203 (August 2002) 200304 (August 2003) 
		
		
			 Compulsory education (96) 226,498 358,056 
			 Post-compulsory education (96) 91,769 173,639 
		
	
	(96)Information not collected in this format in 200102

Connexions

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of the total number of Connexions personal advisers possess an NVQ Level 4, or equivalent, in (a) careers, (b) youth work, (c) social work and (d) other relevant disciplines.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the qualifications of personal advisers is not available in the form requested.
	The information in the table shows the number and proportion of personal advisers working for the Connexions Service who are qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above as at April 2003. Details of the type of qualification are not collected by the Connexions Service National Unit.
	All fully qualified personal advisers are required to hold an NVQ Level 4 or equivalent in a relevant professional discipline. Personal advisers who are not qualified to NVQ Level 4 should be actively working towards achieving this level.
	
		The number and proportion of Personal Advisers working for Connexions qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above as at April 2003
		
			  
		
		
			 Total number of Personal Advisers 5,780 
			 Number of Personal Advisers with NVQ Level 4 or above 4,645 
			 Percentage NVQ Level 4 or above 80

Contact Centres

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many contact centres there are in Wales; who is responsible for the funding of these centres; and what plans he has to increase the number of contact centres in Wales.

Margaret Hodge: There are six child contact centres in Wales that are members of the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC). These child contact centres are run on a voluntary basis and raise funds from a variety of sources. Two benefit from partnership funding from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. All NACCC member child contact centres will benefit from funding by the Children's Fund of NACCC's Change Programme. NACCC is using this funding to develop clear accreditation standards for all its member contact centres. Child contact centres may also seek support from funds (such as Cymorth) provided by the Welsh Assembly Government, where centres provide or seek to provide services in line with the Assembly Government's devolved responsibilities. The Welsh Assembly Government is currently giving careful consideration to the way forward for supervised contact services in Wales.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list contracts for consultancy or work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997 stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 November.

Correspondence

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 17 November 2003, reference 138562, for what reason he describes his letter of 11 April to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyne as a party political document.

Alan Johnson: The reference in my previous reply to the hon. Member to a party political document related to the document The Government's Higher Education Proposals Explained, of 5 November, and not to my letter to him of 11 April.

Correspondence

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will set out the basis for his statement in his letter of 11 April to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme that he could not run a graduate tax arrangement alongside the existing loan repayment scheme.

Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the letter I sent him on the 12 of November, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.

Director of Children's Services

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list those local authorities that have a Director of Children's Services; and on what date the post was created in each case.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 September 2003
	The Green Paper, Every Child Matters, was published on 8 September and the consultation period extends until 1 December. It proposes the creation of Directors of Children's Services, accountable for local authority education and children's social services. This builds on practice in a number of local authorities. We are currently working with local authorities to identify how many authorities have integrated education and children's social services and have Directors of Children's Services.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his answer of 4 November 2003, Official Report, column 579W, if he will estimate how much it would cost to provide an education maintenance allowance of 40 a week rather than 30 a week, to all the young people who will be eligible for an EMA in (a) 200405, (b) 200506 and (c) 200607.

Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Education Revenue Accounts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the percentage share of budget devoted to education revenue accounts by each English education authority for each of the last five years, in descending order.

Nick Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.
	I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

Education Spending

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of GDP the United Kingdom spent on (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) higher education in the last year for which figures are available; and what information he collates on expenditure in other OECD countries.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my right hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Examination Results (Appeals)

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has commissioned into the reasons for the changes on appeal of (a) AS and (b) A2 examinations; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Foundation Degrees

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to encourage conversion of (a) existing courses and (b) qualifications at Higher National Diploma level to foundation degrees.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Foundation Degrees

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people are studying for foundation degrees at (a) universities, (b) higher education colleges and (c) further education colleges in (i) Tyne and Wear, (ii) the North East and (iii) the UK;
	(2)  how many different foundation degrees are offered at (a) universities, (b) higher education colleges and (c) further education colleges in (i) Tyne and Wear, (ii) the North East and (iii) the UK.

Alan Johnson: The latest available information from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), is given in the table.
	
		Numbers of students (97) studying for foundation degrees in English Institutions 200203
		
			  Number of students 
			 Institution type Tyne and Wear North East England 
		
		
			 University 394 509 8,085 
			 FEC 162 197 1162 
			 HEI   3170 
			 Grand total 556 706 12,417 
		
	
	(97) Covers students on full-time or part-time courses.
	The latest figures published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions (UCAS) show that students on Foundation Degrees in 200304 will rise substantially: by early October, the number of students accepted for entry to full-time Foundation Degrees had increased by nearly 80 per cent. compared to the same point last year.
	The latest course information on the UCAS website (www.ucas.ac.uk) shows that, for the 200405 academic year, there are 2,446 Foundation Degree courses offered in England, of which 191 are offered in the North East. The website lists institutions individually and does not list courses by type of institution, and nor does it show figures for Tyne and Wear separately. Foundation Degrees were introduced to respond to sector needs and cover a wide range of courses.

Foundation Degrees

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will list by (a) course and (b) institution the number of students who obtained foundation degrees in 2003;
	(2)  how many students who obtained foundation degrees in 2003 undertook the majority of their studies at (a) further education colleges, (b) institutes of higher education and (c) universities;
	(3)  how many students who obtained a foundation degree in 2003 studied (a) locally, (b) at an institution that required residential accommodation and (c) in the workplace;
	(4)  how many students who completed their foundation degree in 2003 enrolled for an honours degree course.

Alan Johnson: The information requested is not yet available. Information on the number of students who completed foundation degree (FD) courses in 2002/03 will not be available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) until January 2004.
	The latest available figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), showing the distribution of all FD students by the type of institution in which they are studying, is given in the following table; the HEFCE figures do not identify whether the course has been studied locally, or in the workplace.
	Information on the destinations of students who obtained FDs in 2002/03, including those who proceeded to further study, will not be available from HESA until July 2004.
	
		Students on foundation degree courses(98) in England 2002/03
		
			 Type of institution Students 
		
		
			 University 8,085 
			 FE college 1,162 
			 HE institution 3,170 
			 Total 12,417 
		
	
	(98) Covers both full and part-time courses.
	Source:
	Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Foundation Degrees

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students enrolled for foundation degrees in 2003, broken down by (a) course and (b) institution.

Alan Johnson: The latest available information for 2003/04 was published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on 7 October. It showed that the total number of students accepted for entry to full-time foundation degree (FD) courses had risen to 5,448, an increase of nearly 80 per cent. compared to the same point last year. The figures were not disaggregated by institution. UCAS however does not cover students applying to part-time courses, and in 2002/03 around half of all FD students were on part-time courses.

Foundation Degrees

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average annual cost of a foundation degree course was in the last year for which figures are available; and what the cost was of a traditional three year honours degree course.

Alan Johnson: Information on the cost of foundation degrees and honours degrees is not identified separately. The Higher Education Funding Council for England funds honours degree and foundation degree courses on the basis of the same formula which varies according to subject, institutional and student factors. This funding for teaching is allocated to institutions as a block grant and how they allocate this is for them to determine. Institutions also receive funding from other sources both public and private and may use it to subsidise some courses or faculties. The actual cost may therefore vary between institutions and subjects.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England are currently consulting on possible changes to their funding method for teaching and one proposal is that a 10 per cent. premium is introduced for foundation degrees for the short term. This would recognise the higher costs associated with partnerships between higher education institutions, further education colleges and employers. The consultation closed for comments on 14 November.

Funding

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what amount of central government grant per head was paid to each local education authority in England in the last financial year for which figures are available.

David Miliband: The information is not readily available. I will write to the right hon. Member with a full reply.

Graduate Tax

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2003, Official Report, columns 34748W, on graduate tax, if he will provide the references in his letters of 11 April and 3 June for answers to questions tabled on 5 November, refs (a) 137685, (b) 137686, (c) 137687, (d) 137744, (e) 137753, (f) 137754, (g) 137755, (h) 137756, (i) 137757 and (j) 137758.

Alan Johnson: All the hon. Member's questions relate to modelling the Government's proposals for a Graduate Contribution scheme or variants of it. An assessment of other models relative to the Graduate Contribution scheme was contained in the letters of 11 April, 3 June, and our response to the Select Committee on our Higher Education proposals on 28 July. Further material is also set out in my letter of 12 November. I can also confirm that we plan to publish a Regulatory Impact Assessment before the end of the year that will set out the financial implications of the policies announced in the Higher Education White Paper.

Grammar Schools

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list for each of the last five years in each of the local education authorities retaining grammar schools the percentage of children (a) with a special educational needs statement, (b) on free school meals and (c) from ethnic minorities in (i) grammar schools and (ii) non-selective schools.

David Miliband: Information on school intake type (selective or non-selective entry) as reported by schools was collected for the first time in 2003. For earlier years it is possible to identify grammar schools, but not other school types with selective entry.
	Therefore, information on grammar, other selective schools and non-selective schools is provided for 2003 only. For 1999 through to 2002 information is provided for grammar schools and all other schools, which might include some selective-entry schools.
	Tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Higher/Further Education

George Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources have been allocated to (a) higher education and (b) further education for each of the last five years in (i) the West Midlands region and (ii) Stoke-on-Trent.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Higher/Further Education

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students he estimates enrolled on courses of study for (a) Higher National Diploma and (b) foundation degrees in each of the last three academic years.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 21 October 2003
	The latest figures collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are given in the table; comparable figures for 2002/03 will be available from HESA in January 2004, and from the LSC in spring 2004.
	Early data for 2002/03, collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) covering both HE and FE sector institutions, show that there were 57,700 students on HNDs and 12,400 on Foundation Degrees.
	
		Enrolment Numbers on Higher National Diploma (HND) and Foundation Degree Courses at English FE and HE institutions
		
			  FE institutions HE institutions 
			 Academicyear HND Foundation Degree HND Foundation Degree 
		
		
			 1999/00 25,504 (99)n/a 39,196 (99)n/a 
			 2000/01 25,710 (99)n/a 39,181 (99)n/a 
			 2001/02 26,075 162 38,772 2,499 
		
	
	(99) Not applicable. Foundation degrees were first introduced in 2001/02.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning Skills Council (LSC).

Higher/Further Education

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) GCSE year and (b) sixth form students have continued to higher education in (i) the North West and (ii) England in each year since 1992.

Alan Johnson: The available information on participation rates by region shows the proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time undergraduate courses in the UK via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and is given in the table. Comparable figures for the years prior to 1994 are not available centrally.
	It should be noted that the proportions in the table are based only on the number of 18-year-olds entering full-time HE. This is a different definition to the Department's main measures of HE participation: the Age Participation Index (API), which measures the proportion of UK domiciled students who enter full-time HE by the age of 20, and the Initial Entry Rate (IER) which measures the proportion of 1730 year old English domiciled first time entrants to full or part-time HE. Neither the API nor the IER are calculated for each LEA, because of the lack of detailed data at local authority level.
	
		Proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS
		
			  Students from: 
			 Year of entry North West (100) England 
		
		
			 1994 17.6 17.9 
			 1995 20.2 19.5 
			 1996 19.7 19.9 
			 1997 20.2 20.5 
			 1998 20.3 20.0 
			 1999 20.4 20.0 
			 2000 21.0 20.6 
			 2001 21.3 21.5 
			 2002 21.8 22.0 
		
	
	(100) Covers the local education authorities of Blackburn with Darwin, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Cumbria, Halton, Lancashire, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington and Wigan.

Higher/Further Education

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) GCSE and (b) sixth form students have continued to higher education in (i) Somerset, (ii) the South West of England and (iii) England in each year since 1990.

Alan Johnson: The available information on participation rates by local authority and region shows the proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time undergraduate courses in the UK via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCASJ, and is given in the table. Comparable figures for the years prior to 1994 are not available centrally.
	It should be noted that the proportions in the table are based only on the number of 18-year-olds entering full-time HE. This is a different definition to the Department's main measures of HE participation: the Age Participation Index (API), which measures the proportion of UK domiciled students who enter full-time HE by the age of 20, and the Initial Entry Rate (IER) which measures the proportion of 17 to 30-year-old English domiciled first time entrants to full or part-time HE. Neither the API nor the IER are calculated for each LEA, because of the lack of detailed data at local authority level.
	
		Proportion of 18-year-olds entering full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS
		
			  Students from: 
			 Year of entry Somerset South West (101) England 
		
		
			 1994 18.2 19.0 17.9 
			 1995 18.8 19.8 19.5 
			 1996 21.0 20.6 19.9 
			 1997 21.6 21.0 20.5 
			 1998 21.1 20.3 20.0 
			 1999 19.9 19.8 20.0 
			 2000 20.5 20.6 20.6 
			 2001 21.4 20.8 21.5 
			 2002 20.8 21.1 22.0 
		
	
	(101) Covers the local education authorities of Bath and NE Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Swindon, Torbay, and Wiltshire.

Higher/Further Education

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what percentage of young people from (a) the North West Region, (b) Merseyside, (c) St Helens and (d) England took up places in higher education in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what proportion of young people from (a) the North West region, (b) Merseyside and (c) St Helens have studied or are studying at higher education establishments in each of the last five years.

Alan Johnson: The available information on participation rates of young people by local authority and region shows the proportion of 1820 year olds entering full-time undergraduate courses in the UK via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), and is given in the table.
	It should be noted that this is a different measure of participation to the Department's Initial Entry Rate (IER). The IER measures the proportion of 1730 year old English domiciled first time entrants to full or part-time HE, and has been developed to measure progress towards the Government's aim of 50 per cent. participation in HE by 2010. The IER is not calculated for each local authority because of the lack of detailed data at this level.
	
		Proportion of 1820 year olds entering full-time undergraduate courses via UCAS
		
			  Year of Entry 
			 Domicile 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 North West(102) 30.2 30.2 31.8 32.5 32.7 33.2 
			 Merseyside(103) 29.6 28.8 29.6 30.7 32.4 32.6 
			 St Helens 32.1 32.2 32.1 31.7 32.8 32.7 
			 England 32.4 31.6 32.9 34.2 35.2 35.5 
		
	
	(102) Covers the Local Education Authorities of Blackburn with Darwin, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Cumbria, Halton, Lancashire, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Salford, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington and Wigan.
	(103) Covers the Local Education Authorities of Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, and the Wirral.

Higher/Further Education

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of students in higher education establishments in (a) the North West region, (b) Merseyside and (c) St Helens.

Alan Johnson: The annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) of 22 January 2003 set out the planned increases in full-time equivalent student numbers up to 200506. The spending plans assume a national increase of 56,000 places between 200304 and 200506 compared to the plans for 200203.
	In HEFCE's last round of bids for additional student places, the North West region was allocated an additional 4,687 full time equivalent places from 200304 to 200506. Of these 1,263 will be in higher education establishments in Merseyside. There are no higher education institutions in St Helens. No further education colleges in St Helens have been allocated additional places for higher education courses in this bidding round.
	In addition, HEFCE has initiated a bidding exercise for institutions that wish to expand their Foundation Degree places in 200405. The closing date for institutions to submit their bids is 3 December 2003. Within this exercise 10,000 additional full time equivalent Foundation Degree places are being allocated nationally up to 200506. Nearly 1,400 of these are expected to be in North West institutions. Figures for Merseyside are not yet available.
	At present it is unlikely that there will be any further bidding exercises for additional student places in the next two years.

Higher/Further Education

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what additional funding he plans to transfer to the National Assembly for Wales pursuant to his plans to devolve responsibility for higher education.

Alan Johnson: No decisions have been reached yet. The funding to be transferred will depend on the passage of legislation in the UK Parliament and the outcome of Spending Review 2004.

Higher/Further Education

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will publish the latest research he has received on (a) participation rates and (b) drop-out rates in higher education by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local education authority in (A) England and Wales, (B) Scotland and (C) Northern Ireland.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Higher/Further Education

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has taken to promote better financial understanding in schools and colleges of the changes contained in the White Paper on Higher Education.

Alan Johnson: Following the publication of the White Paper The Future of Higher Education, my department published a booklet The Future of Higher Educationwhat it means to students and parents to ensure that prospective students and their parents are made fully aware of the planned changes arising from the White Paper and how these changes could affect them. Some of these proposals will require Parliamentary Approval before coming into force, so legislation will be introduced to bring this about.
	A letter with a copy of the booklet and information on how to order copies was sent to all secondary school head teachers and FE college principals.
	In addition, information on the changes to student finance is included in the Aimhigher teachers and tutors pack, all of the booklets for 1316 year olds, 1619 year olds, Parents and Mature students in the Aimhigher series, which are sent to schools and colleges on request. The Student Finance Guide How to get help financial help as a student outlines the changes proposed in 2006, and is distributed to school pupils through UCAS conventions, LEAs and on request through the nationally advertised helpline.
	The school and college Aimhigher road show facilitators are briefed on 2006 changes and will be able to outline these too if asked.
	Connexions partnerships have been informed and the HE portal contains the proposed changes.

Imams

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many institutions in the United Kingdom provide training for those wishing to qualify as imams; how many places each offered in 200203; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: The latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show that 12 universities currently offer courses in Islamic studies, although completion of these courses would not necessarily entitle the successful student to qualify as an Imam. The number of places on each course is not held centrally.
	The Home Office and Learning and Skills Council have recently invited representatives of the Islamic community to join a new working group to advise on training and qualifications for Imams, including pilot programmes to test different models. The group's interim advice (due in spring 2004) will inform the development of generic competence-based qualifications for community leadership which may be supported by the Learning and Skills Council.

Maintenance Grants

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with colleagues from other Departments regarding increasing annual maintenance grants above those proposed in the White Paper on Higher Education.

Alan Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous reply to him of 17 November 2003 (references 139627 and 139629).

Making Contact Work

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the report, Making Contact Work.

Margaret Hodge: The Government published an interim response to Making Contact Work on 6 August 2002. Stakeholder Groups were established to look in detail at the recommendations and their work has helped to inform the development of our response to the report. I am currently considering the recommendations further in the light of the advice of the Groups and a final response will be published shortly.

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) his Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published.

Stephen Twigg: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Market Research

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) market research in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues.I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Medical Students

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many medical students there were in each year since 1992; and how many medical students are attending Hull York Medical School in its initial year.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Modern Apprenticeships

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what evaluation he has made of employer response to the introduction of modern apprenticeships.

Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Neighbourhood Support Fund (Leeds)

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people in (a) Leeds and (b) Leeds, West have been reached by the neighbourhood support fund.

Margaret Hodge: The number of young people engaged in learning and self developmental activities through NSF projects based in Leeds local education authority since the start of the pilot is 3,017, through 37 projects. Young people supported by NSF projects based in Leeds, West number 542, through a total of eight projects. This information has been collected via the Department's managing agents on a central database. However, it is difficult to give totally accurate figures for young people from Leeds, West because young people can, and do, attend NSF projects outside of their immediate area. The database only holds information by project and does not link to the addresses of the young people attending them. These statistics cover the period from April 2000 to September 2003.

NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on services provided to his Department by NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. since 1977.

Stephen Twigg: NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd. provided my Department with financial advice on the sale of student loan debt from 1996 onwards and at the end of 2000 they also conducted research on the future of the National Grid for Learning (NGfL).

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many people have been employed by each of the non-departmental bodies directly funded by his Department on a (a) part-time, (b) full-time and (c) contractual basis in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Ofsted

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what studies have been carried out on the impact of school closure on educational attainment of former pupils relocated to a different school following a failed Ofsted inspection.

David Miliband: No formal studies have been commissioned, but there are several recent instances of the successful transfer of pupils from a failing school to another school, and where the pupils have subsequently improved their attainment rate. This is also the experience of most pupil groups in new schools created under the Government's Fresh Start programme.

Ofsted

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools were closed following an Ofsted inspection in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

David Miliband: In the last 12 months, 16 maintained schools have closed after receiving an Ofsted inspection report indicating that special measures were required. Four of these schools were given a Fresh Start. One independent school served with a Notice of Complaint following an Ofsted inspection also closed in that period.

Ofsted

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 27 October, Official Report, column 76W, how many Ofsted inspectors in the Teacher Education Division were recruited from posts as (a) headteachers and (b) local education authority advisers.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost was of (a) setting, (b) monitoring and (c) measuring the performance targets for his Department in 200203; and how many and what grades of civil servants monitor these targets.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Performance Monitoring

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the performance targets that (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are required to meet; and if he will specify for each target (i) who sets it and (ii) who monitors achievement against it.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Physical Education

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to ensure that girls are receiving the minimum two hours physical education in school a week.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 19 November 2003
	The Government are investing more than 1 billion to transform Physical Education (PE), school sport and club links in England. This funding will help deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared by DCMS and DfES, to increase the percentage of school children, including girls, who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.
	Spearheading action is the creation of a network of 400 Specialist Sports Colleges and School Sport Partnerships (families of schools that come together to provide additional sports opportunities for all children). A third of schools in England are already benefiting from being within a school sport partnership. All partnerships set specific targets to increase participation of groups (including girls) that traditionally can be marginalised by PE and sport. Additionally there are five girls' only sports colleges.

Pre-school Provision

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had on pre-schooling; what plans he has to expand high-quality pre-school care; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Ministers have discussed pre school issues with a wide range of organisations and individuals in recent months.
	All four-year-olds now have access to a free, part time early education place and by April 2004 all three-year-olds will have access to a free part time place. Presently 88 per cent. of three-year-olds enjoy free early education.
	We have also funded a major expansion of child care through our National Childcare Strategy. Since 1997, 745,000 new places have been created, benefiting more than 1.3 million children. Following the substantial increase in child care expenditure agreed as part of the 2002 Spending Review, new places will be provided for over 2 million children by 2006.
	Our National Standards set a benchmark of quality below which no registered child care should fall and Ofsted inspects against these Standards.
	Specific initiatives, such as Sure Start local programmes, Neighbourhood Nurseries and our new children's centres, are expanding high quality, safe child care in disadvantaged communities, increasingly provided alongside early education and family and health support.

Primary Schools (Essex)

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special needs teachers were employed in primary schools by Essex county council on 1 September.

David Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. In January 2003, there were 5,100 full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained nursery and primary schools and a further 280 full-time equivalent regular teachers in maintained special schools, pupil referral units and education other than at school in Essex. All teachers must be able to differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs in order to gain Qualified Teacher Status. In addition, special educational needs feature in the induction standards for new teachers.

School Buildings

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was paid in VAT on school buildings in the last three years.

David Miliband: Schools that receive their funding for premises-related work through their local education authority may be required to pay VAT on certain types of work, but can then reclaim those costs. We do not have records of the amounts involved. Voluntary Aided schools cannot normally reclaim any VAT payable on work which is funded by capital grant paid by this Department, although that grant is increased to reflect the VAT costs.
	Our records indicate that the amounts of VAT paid on this type of work are as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 200102 23.01 
			 200203 38.00 
			 200304 (to date) 29.36 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures do not include VAT for Academies, City Technology Colleges, or former Grant Maintained schools.
	2. VAT information for earlier years is not available.

School Funding

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what Surrey's change in funding was following the new funding arrangements for schools introduced in December 2002; what the national average was; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

School Funding

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether, in relation to the Government's education grant to Surrey in (a) 200203 and (b) 200304, allowance was made for (i) the increase in national insurance rates, (ii) the re-grading of teaching assistants, (iii) the non-government-funded parts of the increases in teachers' pensions and (iv) administration and insurance charges.

David Miliband: The national grant settlement, which included the proportionate allocation for Surrey was sufficient in each of the years in question to fund all of the pressures listed above.

School Meals

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether (a) providers and (b) procurers of school meals are required to complete an assessment exercise which addresses the issues contained in the Why Diet is Important module of Unit 9B Science at Key Stage 3.

Stephen Twigg: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues.I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Secondment

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people from science and technology backgrounds have been seconded into the Civil Service in his Department in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Selective Education (Ethnic Minorities)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils of each local authority which retains selective education in (a) grammar schools, (b) secondary modern schools or equivalent and (c) non-selective schools are from each ethnic minority.

David Miliband: holding answer 11 November 2003
	Information on the proportion of pupils by ethnic group is provided for schools that have indicated that they operate selective (grammar) entry, selective (other) entry and non-selective entry.
	The information is based upon school intake type as reported by schools in the 2003 Annual Schools' Census.
	Tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Silent Aeroplanes

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will provide funds to Cambridge University for research into silent aeroplanes.

Alan Johnson: The joint Cambridge University-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (CMI) which receives Government funding to promote collaborative research with industry, has recently announced a project to develop the design for a silent aircraft. The Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) has also recently awarded a grant to the Cambridge University engineering department for research into jet engine noise at take off.

Special Educational Needs

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in each local authority receive additional support through the code of practice on special educational needs; and what assessment his Department has made of differences in the pattern of support identified among local authorities.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Special Educational Needs

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes have taken place in the number of children in (a) nursery, (b) primary and (c) secondary education with statements of special educational need since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Margaret Hodge: The number of pupils with statements of SEN has increased in all sectors since 1997. However, since 2000 the rate of increase has levelled out and the proportion of pupils with statements in England has remained at 3 per cent. for the last two years. A table containing the number of pupils for each authority will be placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to develop common definitions of need for children with special educational needs.

Margaret Hodge: From January 2004 we shall be collecting information about the type of special need for children with statements of SEN and those at the School Action Plus phase in the SEN Code of Practice. In preparation for this exercise we have provided all schools with guidance, which includes definitions of 11 special educational needs. A copy of the publication, Data Collection by Type of Special Educational Need, is available at: www.dfes.gov.uk/sen

Special Educational Needs

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total amount spent by Somerset county council on special needs teaching was in (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

Margaret Hodge: The Department does not collect expenditure data within mainstream schools for teaching on special needs. The following table therefore only contains data for teaching expenditure within special schools in Somerset local education authority.
	
		Total expenditure on teaching staff within special schools for Somerset LEA
		
			  Special schools () 
		
		
			 200102 3,528,393 
			 200203 3,595,259 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The 200102 figures are taken from Table 3 of the LEA's 200102 section 52 Outturn Statement.
	2. The 200203 figures are taken from Table A of the LEA's 200203 section 52 Outturn Statement. The figures are still subject to validation by the Department and could change.
	3. The figures reported are in cash terms.
	4. The figures are as reported by the LEA.

Specialist Schools

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of (a) technology, (b) sports, (c) arts, (d) languages, (e) engineering, (f) science, (g) mathematics and computing and (h) business and enterprise specialist schools select 10 per cent. of their pupil intake on the basis of aptitude.

David Miliband: On the basis of the latest collated figures, 6.3 per cent. of technology, 5 per cent. of sports, 8.8 per cent. of arts and 3.2 per cent. of language colleges select up to 10 or more per cent. of their pupil intake on the basis of aptitude.
	The Department does not yet have figures on aptitude selection in relation to schools designated in the new engineering, mathematics and computing or business and enterprise specialisms. Aptitude selection in science is not permitted according to the regulations made under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Student Courses

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students were on courses leading to (a) ordinary national diplomas, (b) higher national diplomas and (c) foundation degrees in each of the last three years.

Alan Johnson: The latest figures collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are given in the table; comparable figures for 2002/03 will be available from HESA in January 2004, and from the LSC in spring 2004.
	Early data for 2002/03, collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) covering both HE and FE sector institutions, show that there were 57,700 students on HNDs and 12,400 on Foundation Degrees. The HEFCE data does not separately identify OND or equivalent courses.
	
		Enrolment numbers on Ordinary National Diplomas (OND), Higher National Diploma (HND) and Foundation Degree Courses at English HE and FE institutions
		
			  FE institutions HE institutions 
			 Academic year OND(104) HND Foundation Degree(105) OND HND Foundation Degree 
		
		
			  
			 1999/00 88,673 25,504 (104)n/a 2,619 39,196 (104)n/a 
			 2000/01 87,895 25,710 (104)n/a 2,284 39,181 (104)n/a 
			 2001/02 88,441 26,075 162 2,463 38,772 2,499 
		
	
	(104) ONDs are no longer recorded on the LSC's database; the figures in the table cover National Diplomas and Edexcel National Diplomas which are their modern equivalent.
	(105) Not applicable. Foundation degrees were first introduced in 2001/02.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning Skills Council (LSC).

Student Finance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost was to his Department per pound loaned of subsidising loans from the Student Loans Company in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: After taking into account the effect of inflation, the total cost to DfES of providing for loan subsidies can vary from year to year, resulting in a different cost per pound loaned. In 200102 the cost per pound was 41 p.
	The factors affecting the total costs are the Treasury discount rate, which is used to calculate the costs in the DfES Accounts rather than the actual cost of borrowing; the retail price index; and the forecast repayment of loans, which affects the amount set aside in the provision for future subsidy costs. The 200102 costs were based on the 6 per cent. Treasury cost of capital rate. From 200304 the cost will be calculated using the revised 3.5 per cent. rate.

Student Finance

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what recent reports he has received into student attitudes towards debt if they are from family backgrounds with (a) lower incomes, (b) middle incomes and (c) upper incomes.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Student Finance

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, 
	(1)  what information he has collated on the percentage of students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds that (i) hold a part-time job during term-time, (ii) live with their parents during term-time and (iii) attend a university close to their home; and what changes have taken place in these statistics since 1997;
	(2)  what information he has collated on the percentage of students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income households who leave university (i) debt free and (ii) with debts of over 11,715;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the percentages of the income of students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds that are derived from (i) student loans, (ii) bank loans and overdrafts, (iii) credit cards, (iv) grants, (v) parental contributions and (vi) work during university;
	(4)  what reports he has received on how much students from (a) lower income, (b) middle income and (c) upper income backgrounds borrow by the time they leave university from (i) the Student Loans Company, (ii) parents, (iii) bank loans and overdrafts and (iv) credit cards;
	(5)  what recent reports he has received regarding the relationship between students' family incomes and their level of debt after leaving university;
	(6)  what is the average level of debt held after leaving university by a student from (a) a lower, (b) a middle and (c) an upper income background was in 200203.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Student Finance

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the waiver for part-time students on income support will be available for those reading post-graduate courses who have not previously taken a first degree.

Alan Johnson: The fee grant that is being introduced in 2004/05 will be available for part-time students on undergraduate courses. Although part-time postgraduate students will not qualify for the fee grant, they may be able to apply for a career development loan or a research council bursary to support their study. If they are disabled, they may also qualify for a disabled students' allowance.

Sure Start

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Bath and North East Somerset are benefiting from the Sure Start programme.

Margaret Hodge: Bath and North East Somerset has one Sure Start local programme. This is based in the wards of Twerton, Southdown, Westmoreland, Odd Down and Oldfield and serves 842 children under the age of four.

Sure Start

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1146W, on Sure Start, 
	(1)  what constitutes contact in the context of Sure Start programmes contacting children living in these areas;
	(2)  how many children in each of the Birkenhead Sure Start areas have been contacted by Sure Start in addition to the visit every mother of a newborn baby receives from (a) a midwife and (b) a health visitor.

Margaret Hodge: Contact by Sure Start local programmes is defined to mean that a child aged 03 and their parent or carer has taken up services. This might be a home visit, or participation in a centre based activity such as child care or a playgroup, parenting or smoking cessation class, or a child health check. Visits to families of new born babies include visits by programme staff, and routine visits by midwives and health visitors provided they inform the family about Sure Start services. Information is not collected separately on whether the visit to a family of a new born baby was by a member of the programme's staff, a midwife or a health visitor.

Sure Start

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding his Department has allocated to the Sure Start programme in Battersea constituency since its establishment; and how it has been spent.

Margaret Hodge: Sure Start Battersea has been operational since October 2000. The revenue and capital allocations and the current spend to date for the programme are shown as follows:
	
		Revenue -- 
		
			  Grant allocation Actual spend 
		
		
			 2000/01 290,000 125,252 
			 2001/02 800,000 506,847 
			 2002/03 855,000 855,099 
			 2003/04 800,000 n/a 
		
	
	Revenue funding has been used to support the development of a range of services for 03's and their families within the catchment area, such as outreach and home visiting, child care, support for families and primary and community health care.
	
		Capital
		
			   
		
		
			 Total allocation (to be spent by October 2004) 1,075,000 
			 Total approved 852,897 
			 Total spend to date 326,685 
		
	
	Capital funding of 1,075,000 has been allocated to Sure Start Battersea of which 852,897 has been approved for a Sure Start centre at the Katherine Low Settlement, to contribute towards the re-development of an early years outdoor area at Falconbrook School and to develop local play areas.

Sure Start

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children at day nurseries sponsored by Sure Start are (a) paying full fees for care and (b) receiving financial help, broken down by education authority.

Margaret Hodge: The Government do not collect data in this form as there are numerous sources of financial help to pay for child care costs, which can be accessed by parents.
	The Government recognise that making child care affordable is a key challenge for the National Childcare Strategy and have made a substantial investment to achieve this. Working parents, subject to the level of their income, may receive support through the child care element of the Working Tax Credit. There is regional information on the numbers of families benefiting from the child care element of the Working Tax Credit but this does not include a breakdown of types of child care used.
	Families are further supported through early education places, which can be used to off-set the cost of child care. As a result of our policies, all four-year-olds are able to access a free, good quality, part-time early education place. From April 2004, six months ahead of the original target, this will be extended to all three-year-olds. Currently 88 per cent. of three-year-olds are able to benefit from some level of free provision.
	In addition, support is also available through various grants and access funds for parents undertaking further and higher education, for participants on the New Deals and those receiving Jobseeker's Allowance. Lone Parents participating in the New Deal for Lone Parents programme, can receive assistance with the costs of registered child care while attending job interviews, approved training and meetings with their personal advisers. The Care To Learn Scheme launched in August this year enables young parents (1618) who are in education or training to access help with registered child care costs.
	The Government are providing start-up funding to support the development of child care for children under five in disadvantaged areas. Revenue funding to support the running costs of neighbourhood nurseries over the first three years of operation is made available to eligible local authorities at a rate of 5,400 per place. This is the equivalent of 270,000 for a 50-place nursery. It is for each local authority to determine the actual rate of support to individual providers based on local circumstances and its overall funding allocation.
	Where good quality child care providers are facing financial difficulties, they may apply to the local authority for sustainability funding. For 200406 a specific sustainability fund of some 30 million will be available to help sustain child care provision. Any provider applying for such funding must be able to show that they will be viable in the future, as sustainability funding is aimed at short term support only.

Sure Start

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are attending Sure Start day nurseries.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Ofsted do not record the number of children who are attending child care settings but record instead the maximum number of places that can be offered by providers at any one time. Each one of these places may be taken by more than one child. Ofsted publish quarterly statistics about the number of child care providers and places on their internet site, under the categories of full day care, sessional day care, child minders, out of school clubs, and crches. The table shows the latest information on the number of places available by each of these categories.
	
		Registered child care places in Englandposition as at30 June 2003
		
			  Number of places (106) 
		
		
			 Full day care 398,900 
			 Child minders 307,300 
			 Sessional day care 287,000 
			 Out of school day care 310,100 
			 Crche day care 45,100 
		
	
	(106) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 places.

Teachers' Pay

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in Surrey were eligible for the higher salaries scale payable only to experienced teachers in each of the last four years.

David Miliband: The number of teachers assessed as passing the threshold in Surrey is:
	September 2000 = 2940;
	September 2001 = 542; and
	September 2002 = 743.

Teachers' Pay

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many newly qualified teachers employed in (a) Surrey, (b) Kent, (c) Sussex and (d) Hampshire in the last 12 months have started on Scale 4 level salaries.

David Miliband: The information is not available centrally.

Teachers' Pay

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the costs of higher salaries for experienced teachers has been met by central Government in Surrey, in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

David Miliband: Experienced eligible teachers have been able to apply for threshold payments since September 2000 and these are fully funded by central Government. Such teachers may also make further progress along the upper pay scale and there are substantial grants to assist this, totalling some 175 million in 200304.

Teaching Vacancies

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacant deputy head teacher posts existed in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) special schools in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority; and if he will express the figures as a percentage of the total number of head teachers.

David Miliband: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Teenage Unemployment

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many 16 to 18 year olds not in education, employment or training there were in each year since 1992.

Ivan Lewis: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Top-up Fees

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, who will pay the planned maximum top-up fee of 3,000 for (a) a Welsh, (b) a Scottish and (c) a Northern Ireland student attending an English university.

Alan Johnson: It will be for universities themselves to set their fee levels, provided that they have an access agreement approved by the Office for Fair Access. All UK-domiciled students attending an English university will have to pay the fee.
	All English-domiciled students will have the option to defer the payment of their fees. It will be for the devolved administrations themselves to decide whether to offer their students the option to defer payment of the fee, by providing them with a loan for fees.

Truancy

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will advise local education authorities that they should seek a conditional discharge from magistrates when taking lone parents to court for the truancy of their children rather than seeking a fine.

Ivan Lewis: It is for magistrates to decide how to dispose of a case where a parent is prosecuted for truancy and, if imposing a fine, they must take into account the parent's means to pay.
	It would not be appropriate to advise local education authorities to seek a conditional discharge in all cases involving lone parents as each case should be considered on its own facts.
	The Department has issued guidance to all local education authorities on prosecuting parents including advice on the range of ways in which the court may dispose of a case and mitigating factors.

Tuition Fees

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much a secondary teacher on national average earnings will pay towards the proposed graduate contribution scheme each year until the contribution has been paid off; and if he can give the same figure as a proportion of (a) before income tax and national insurance contribution income and (b) after income tax and national insurance contribution income.

Alan Johnson: Under our proposals, graduates begin repayments on their student loan once they are earning above the 15,000 repayment threshold. They pay 9 per cent. of their salary above the threshold per year. Loan repayments will continue until the loan has been paid off:
	where a student has received the tuition fee remission grant, or the HE Grant, their loan will be lower, and therefore the time taken to repay the loan will be less.
	In addition, students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses receive a 6,000 training bursary as well as having their tuition fees paid by the Government. Those who qualify in priority subjects (approximately one third of students) also receive a 4,000 Golden Hello after induction and this may be used to pay off student loan commitments.
	The level of loan repayment is directly linked to individual earnings and the repayment system is progressivethe amount that goes in repayments rises as the graduate's income does. To this extent, the career progression of a secondary school teacher will have an influence on their loan repayments.
	The average salary for newly-qualified full-time regular teachers in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales at 31March 2002 was 18,2601. Therefore, that teacher would pay around 300 per year in loan repayments: that is approximately1.6 per cent. of income before income tax and national insurance contribution; and 2.1 per cent. of income after income tax and national insurance contribution.
	The average salary for full-time regular teachers with five years' experience in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales at 31 March 2002 was 26,0702. Therefore, that teacher would pay around 1,000 per year in loan repayments: that is approximately 3.8 per cent. of income before income tax and national insurance contribution; and 5.2 per cent. of income after income tax and national insurance contribution.
	1 DfES Database of Teacher Records
	2 Database of Teacher Records
	3 DfES Database of Teacher Records

Tuition Fees

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the income of (a) cohabiting partners and (b) new partners as a result of remarriage is taken into account in the assessment of residual household income for the exemption or remission of tuition fees; what changes he proposes; and what assessment he has made of the number of students likely to lose the entitlement to full or partial remission of tuition fees as a result.

Alan Johnson: The income of cohabiting partners and new partners is not currently taken into account in the assessment of residual income for the exemption or remission of tuition fees unless the student has been formally adopted.
	We are proposing that the income of spouses and cohabiting partners of the student's natural parents is taken into account for new students whose courses start from September 2004. Where the household income is 20,970, a minimum contribution of 45 will be assessed. This will rise by 1 for every 9.50 of income above that threshold.
	Since the change is to be implemented only for new students entering higher education in 2004/05, no student will lose their current entitlement to fee remission because of this change to the means test.
	Estimates of the effects of the inclusion of cohabiting partners' income have been derived using income data from a number of sources and are indicative. Our best indication is that, once it reaches steady state, this change could account for a fall of approximately three points in the percentage of dependent students receiving full fee remission. The percentage of dependent students entitled to partial fee remission is expected to remain more or less unchanged.

Tuition Fees

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of home students at each higher education institution who are (a) fully and (b) partly exempt from tuition fees.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to my hon. Friend with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Tuition Fees

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to ensure that any increase in the level of tuition fees will not have an adverse impact on the (a) supply, (b) retention, (c) diversity and (d) quality of students on (i) teaching, (ii) science, (iii) engineering, (iv) architecture, (v) veterinary and (vi) legal courses.

Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to my previous reply to him of 12 November 2003, Official Report, column 354, in which I set out the measures for safeguarding access to higher education. With regard in particular to students on teaching courses, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State already monitors demand for, and take-up of, places on teacher training courses and has introduced a number of incentives aimed at encouraging teacher supply and retention. Students on Postgraduate Certificate in Education courses, for example, receive a 6,000 training bursary as well as having their tuition fees paid by the Government. Those who qualify in priority subjects (approximately one third of students) also receive a 4,000 Golden Hello after induction.
	The Government will continue to take such measures as it believes appropriate to ensure that teacher supply meets demand. I would expect employers in other sectors of the labour market to take the action they believe is necessary to attract adequate numbers of graduates. The Office for Fair Access will, however, also play a role in ensuring that policies are in place to safeguard access to higher education across all subjects.

Tuition Fees

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of variable tuition fees on social access to higher education in the United States contained in the reports (a) Empty promises: The myth of college access in America and (b) Access denied: Restoring the Nation's commitment to equal educational opportunity, issued by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance in 2002 and 2001, respectively; and if he will place copies in the Library;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the findings of the 2003 report, HECS and Opportunities in Higher Education, into the effects of the rises in variable tuition fees since 1996 in Australia on demand among (a) school leavers, (b) mature students and (c) students from lower socio-economic backgrounds doing highest rate, band three courses; and if he will place a copy in the Library;
	(3)  what conclusions his Department has drawn from its assessment of statistics as to the percentage of students (a) from lower income backgrounds and (b) in receipt of basic federal assistance in the form of Pell grants admitted as part of the annual intake by Ivy League universities;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of Canadian research on variable tuition fees and social access to medical courses at the University of Toronto in the paper, Effects of rising tuition fees on medical school class composition and financial outlook, issued by the Canadian Medical Association in 2002; and if he will place a copy in the Library;
	(5)  what further international research he examined on the impact of (a) variable tuition fees, (b) debt aversion and (c) unmet student financial need before the White Paper on Higher Education was published in January, in addition to the two papers issued before that date which he has placed in the Library.

Alan Johnson: During the development of the White Paper the Department reviewed a range of existing and on-going national and international research evidence into the impact of different student support policies on levels and patterns of student demand.
	The Department continues to keep relevant research reports under review as they are published. I also refer my hon. Friend to the reports placed in the Library of the House in answer to his question on 17 November 2003, Official Report, column 562W.

Undergraduate Degrees

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people applied to study undergraduate degrees in (a) law, (b) medicine, (c) engineering, (d) nursing, (e) education and (f) dentistry at higher education institutions in London in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: Information for the years 1992 and 1993 are not available centrally. The available information for the years 1994 to 2002 covers all applicant numbers to full time and sandwich first degrees through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) to institutions in Greater London and is shown in the table.
	For students entering teacher training courses, there has been a progressive shift over many years from BEd to PGCE courses; only the BEd courses are covered by UCAS. Following the Roberts Review, which looked into the supply of people with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, we have introduced a number of initiatives designed to improve staffing and the teaching environment of these subjects, including additional funding for pay and for the development of university science infrastructure.
	
		Applicants (107) through UCAS to full time and sandwich first degree courses in Greater London, by selected subjects
		
			  Year of entry 
			  1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Subject  
			 Law 10,30 3 9,747 8,645 8,599 8,834 8,412 8,408 8,246 9,382 
			 Medicine 7,745 7,883 8,053 7,850 7,756 6,959 5,849 5,702 6,135 
			 Engineering'2' 14,64 3 12,06 9 10,113 9,986 9,976 9,324 8,884 8,976 11,736 
			 Nursing 1,480 1,825 1,735 2,061 1,738 1,755 2,111 2,232 2,014 
			 Education13' 13,21 1 20,50 2 16,883 11,291 10,459 8,372 7,771 6,939 4,239 
			 Dentistry 1,394 1,568 1,620 1,655 1,488 1,210 1,078 872 891 
		
	
	(107) Since 1996 each student has been able to make up to six applications; prior to this each student could make up to eight applications. In the tables, applicants are counted once under each subject to which they applied.
	(108) Includes those applying to general, civil, mechanical, aerospace, electronic, electrical, production, manufacturing, chemical, process and energy engineering and naval architecture.
	(109) Not all of the subjects within this group are teacher training courses. During the years shown in the table the courses included under in this group have varied: in 1995, Sports science, Leisure studies and Recreation Management were added some of these were re-allocated to other subject group in 1996, and the remainder re-allocated in 1997.

Universities

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many (a) applications and (b) applications per place were received to read (i) biology, (ii) English, (iii) geography, (iv) history, (v) law and (vi) mathematics at (A) Birmingham, (B) Bristol, (C) Durham, (D) Leeds, (E) Liverpool, (F) Manchester, (G) Newcastle, (H) Nottingham, (I) Sheffield and (J) York universities in academic year 200203.

Alan Johnson: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Website

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the content and design of his Department's website.

Charles Clarke: I am unable to provide the information requested before the House prorogues. I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Youth Unemployment

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) representations and (b) discussions he has had in the last 12 months with (i) Connexions and (ii) other agencies on young people aged between 16 and 24 who are not in work, education, training or a new deal programme; what estimate he has made of the number of young people who fell into that category in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: We have had no representations from Connexions or other agencies on this matter. We have set the Connexions service a target to reduce the number of 16 to 18-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training by 10 per cent. by November 2004. The baseline date from which this will be measured is November 2002.
	The New Deal for Young People is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Entry is mandatory for all 18 to 24-year-olds who have been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance continuously for six months. The scheme has helped nearly 450,000 young people move into work.
	According to estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) around 700,000 or 12.25 per cent. of 16 to 25-year-olds in England were not in Employment, Education or Training in winter 200203. Around a third of these were women with dependent children.